NEW DELHI: India and the European Union (EU) held their first-ever Trade and Technology Council (TTC) meeting with participation from three Cabinet Ministers, but differences came to the fore on two key issues which both sides said would be addressed in a spirit of friendship.
The India-EU TTC is the second such mechanism by Brussels. Its sole TTC till now was with the US. At a post-TTC meet press conference, Jaishankar rejected EU Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell’s call for sanctions against Indian petro products refined from Russian crude and exported to Europe.
Asked if Borell had broached this issue during a bilateral with him, Jaishankar said, “My understanding of (European) Council regulations is that if Russian crude is substantially transformed in a third country, then it is not treated as Russian anymore,” he said at a media conference.
European Commission’s executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager said, “There are no doubts about the legal basis of sanctions. Of course, it’s a discussion we will have with friends with extended hands and not pointed fingers. That goes without saying.” She also referred to the spirit of the TTC, which indicates “a very, very strong willingness to substantially strengthen that partnership”. “I echo that,” said Jaishankar. The other issue of discord is the EU’s proposal to impose a 20 to 35 per cent additional import duty on high-carbon goods like steel, iron ore and cement.