BRUSSELS, Aug 6 (KUNA) - An EU spokesperson underlined Thursday that the 28-member bloc remains committed to working towards a conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement between India and the EU that will be acceptable to both sides. The EU reaction came after India on Wednesday decided to defer its FTA talks with the EU, scheduled for later this month, following an EU import ban of 700 Indian drugs. "We expect these talks to take place soon and to overcome any deferral that would prevent them from happening," a spokesperson for the European Commission, Daniel Rosario, told a news conference in Brussels.
The Indian commerce & industry ministry in a statement in New Delhi yesterday expressed its disappointment and concern over the action of the EU "in imposing a legally binding ban on the sale of around 700 pharma products." Rosario, however, said that the purpose of meeting at the chief negotiators level end of August was to explore the possibility of resuming the FTA talks between EU and India and was not meant in any way a full fledged negotiating rounds.
EU and India began the FTA talks in 2007 but they were suspended after 12 rounds in 2013 due to disagreement over several issues between the two sides. (end) nk.ajs