Centre for Policy Research along with The Bruegel Institute, Brussels is pleased to invite you to the discusion on Europe and India: Comparing Approaches to Global Economic Challenges.
The session will be online via Zoom. To register, kindly fill these Form. Day 1 and Day 2
The session will also be live-streamed on CPR’s Facebook Page.
In case of any issues and for any queries, please email at communication@cprindia.org
About the discussion
India and Europe share common interests in dealing with global economic challenges including those related to the Covid-19 pandemic, the crisis of the trading system, climate change and the digital transformation. They also share and shape the global geopolitical environment within which these challenges are unfolding.
The purpose of this webinar will be to compare the approaches of Europe and India to some of these common challenges and assess how far they converge or contrast with each other and what can be done to increase convergence through both multilateral and bilateral initiatives.
India and the European Union are both strong supporters of multilateralism and a rules-based global order, and influential actors in multilateral fora such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Paris Agreement. They are also strategic partners and their Leaders have endorsed at the 15th EU-India Summit held in July 2020 the “EU-India Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025” as a common roadmap to guide joint action and further strengthen the EU-India Strategic Partnership over the next five years.
The webinar will consist of four virtual sessions, each 90 minutes long, led by two panelists, one Indian and one European. All four sessions will be co-chaired by Amb Shyam Saran of CPR and Andre Sapir of Bruegel. The sessions will be on following topics:
- Strategic Environment
- Trade
- Climate Change
- Digital Transformation
The objective of these sessions is to foster deeper conversations between Indian and European stakeholders. To this end, the session will aim to be as interactive as possible, inviting lively engagement from participants. Participants will include serving and retired government officials as well as representatives of the private sector, media and think tanks/academia.
Agenda
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Day 1 (15 December 2020)
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| IST – 4:00 pm to 4:10 pm
CET- 11:30 am to 11:40 am |
Opening Session
- Opening Remarks by Yamini Aiyar, President, CPR
- Introductory Remarks by Guntram Wolff, Director, Bruegel
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| IST – 4:10 pm to 5:40 pm
CET – 11:40 am to 1:10 pm |
Assessing Global Strategic Environment and Identifying Avenues of Cooperation
Developments in the year 2020 such as the pandemic, India-China border tensions, political divisions within the US and strengthening authoritarianism across the world have introduced new uncertainties global geopolitics. They have also amplified deeper trends over the last decade to erode the liberal international order in place since the end of the Second World War. As some of the biggest democratic strongholds in the world with enormous economic and military power, India, the EU and European member states have many overlapping but underexplored concerns that can be the basis of a resilient strategic partnership. In particular, the Roadmap for India-EU Strategic Partnership identifies some areas of cooperation such as terrorism, maritime security and non-proliferation, it does not go nearly far enough to tap the true potential of this relationship. This session will ask how the two can build a strong foundation for an expansive political and security partnership within the current geopolitical context.
Panelists:
- Amb Gautam Mukhopadhya, Visiting Fellow, CPR
- Alicia Garcia-Herrero, Senior Fellow, Bruegel
Co-Chairs:
- Amb Shyam Saran, Senior Fellow, CPR
- Andre Sapir, Senior Fellow, Bruegel
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| IST – 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
CET – 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm |
International trade relations in the emerging global economic order
The global trading system has been under strain for a while and is facing huge challenges. There is broad agreement that the WTO needs to be repaired and reformed. This session will compare the goals and approaches of European member states towards the global trading system and discuss how the agenda is likely to be affected by the arrival of a Democratic administration in Washington. The EU’s success in reaching agreements with Japan and Viet Nam and Britain’s interest in both CPTPP and in a bilateral agreement with Japan are important for an India which has stayed out of RCEP. It will also discuss the bilateral EU-India trade relation. Given India’s rapid development and large demographic pool, and the EU’s industrial strength, there is potential to further increase trade flows. Yet, the India-EU free trade deal is still not concluded after years of negotiations. How can the two work together to strengthen their trade links and reap mutual benefits?
Panelists:
- Ignacio Garcia-Bercero, Director, DG Trade, European Commission
- Rajat Kathuria, Director and Chief Executive, ICRIER
Co-Chairs:
- Amb Shyam Saran, Senior Fellow, CPR
- Andre Sapir, Senior Fellow, Bruegel
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Day 2 (16 December 2020)
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| IST – 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm
CET – 11:30 am to 1:00 pm |
India-Europe engagement on Climate Change
The EU and India share a strong commitment to supporting the Paris Agreement and its global application. How can the two better coordinate their diplomatic efforts with this regard? Since 2016, the EU and India have a partnership on clean energy and climate aiming to encourage the sharing of regulatory approaches, support business solutions and promote joint innovation activities. Yet differences remain, such as on the question of differentiated responsibilities, on carbon border adjustment taxes or attitudes towards new generation coal. Given this backdrop, what are the next steps in EU – India cooperation in this field? How should India and the EU plan for COP26? What issues do the new US administration and new commitments by China to decarbonize by 2060 raise for India and the EU?
Panelists:
- Navroz Dubash, Senior Fellow, CPR
- Simone Tagliapietra, Research Fellow, Bruegel
Co-Chairs:
- Amb Shyam Saran, Senior Fellow, CPR
- Andre Sapir, Senior Fellow, Bruegel
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| IST – 6:30 pm to 7:45 pm
CET – 2:00 pm to 3:15 pm |
Addressing common challenges of digital transformation and promoting rule-based global data governance
The ongoing digital transformation offers an extraordinary opportunity for countries to become more productive, enhance citizen’s lives and make learning easier. However, it is also likely to have redistributive effects, between countries and within countries, deepening inequalities between those able to adapt and those who do not. It is also posing new challenges to privacy and data protection. Are the Indian and EU philosophies on privacy and data protection aligned with one another? What are the respective positions of the two partners with respect to digital trade and digital taxation?
Panelists:
- Georgios Petropoulos, Research Fellow, Bruegel
- Ananth Padmanabhan, Visiting Fellow, CPR
Co-Chairs:
- Amb Shyam Saran, Senior Fellow, CPR
- Andre Sapir, Senior Fellow, Bruegel
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IST – 7:45 pm to 8:00 pm
CET – 3:15 pm to 3:30 pm
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Concluding Remarks
- Suman Bery, Non-Resident Fellow, Bruegel
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