A4-0066/99

Resolution on the communication from the Commission on EU-India Enhanced Partnership (COM(96)0275 - C4-0407/96)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission communication, COM(96)0275) - C4-0407/96,

- having regard to the conclusions of the Council of 6 December 1996 approving the Commission's recommendations on the EU-India Enhanced Partnership,

- having regard to the declaration by the European Union of 25 May 1998 on India's nuclear tests ((Statement on the 2097th Council meeting - General Affairs of 25 May 1998.)) and the declaration of the European Union of 9 June 1998 on India's and Pakistan's nuclear tests ((Statement on the 2104th Council meeting - General Affairs of 8-9 June 1998.)),

- having regard to the common position on the EU's contribution to the promotion of non-proliferation and confidence-building in the South Asian region, adopted by the Council on 26 October 1998 ((OJ L 290, 29.10.1998, p. 1.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 14 June 1995 on the Commission Communication 'Towards a New Asia Strategy' ((OJ C 166, 3.7.1995, p. 64.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 16 May 1997 on the Commission Communication 'Europe-Asia Cooperation Strategy for Energy' ((OJ C 167, 2.6.1997, p. 234.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 28 May 1998 on the role of the Union in the world: implementation of the CFSP ((OJ C 195, 22.6.1998, p. 35.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 18 June 1998 on nuclear testing by India and Pakistan ((OJ C 210, 6.7.1998, p. 205.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 19 November 1998 on the New Agenda Coalition for nuclear disarmament ((Minutes of that Sitting, Part II, Item 5.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 11 February 1999 on religious freedom ((Minutes of that Sitting, Part II, Item 10(c).)),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Security and Defence Policy and the opinions of the Committee on External Economic Relations and the Committee on Development and Cooperation (A4-0066/99),

A. whereas relations between India and the European institutions date back to 1962 and have always been based on a common commitment to democratic values,

B. whereas, since independence, India has been one of the rare examples of democracies in the region,

C. whereas India is a crucial factor for stability and the encouragement of democratic development throughout Asia,

D. whereas 52% of the population still lives on an income of less than $81 a year, only 69% of men and 43% of women are literate and life expectancy is under 60 years, despite the political determination of successive Indian governments to eradicate extreme poverty,

E. recognising that poverty is a fundamental cause of illiteracy and poor standards of health,

F. whereas the enormous economic strides India has made in recent years, the progressive and consistent opening of its market and the major improvements in the living standards of the people should nonetheless be emphasised,

G. whereas it is essential for the European Union to consolidate its presence and to develop its links in Asia ,and more particularly in the Indian subcontinent, in political as well as economic and commercial terms, not least because of the critical strategic interest for the EU in maintaining peaceful relations in the traditionally extremely tense triangular relationship between India, Pakistan and China,

H. having regard to the work already accomplished within organisations such as ASEAN, SAARC, and the ASEM process,

I. whereas there needs to be a marked improvement in relations between the Union and third countries through partnerships characterised by ongoing cooperation on political, security, economic and environmental strategies viewed as a whole,

J. whereas cooperation between the EU and India, which is among the most long-standing arrangements, has evolved steadily and has been punctuated by three agreements, the last of which came into force in 1994, and needed updating to tackle the major challenges now facing the two sides,

K. whereas India plays an increasingly prominent part as a partner to the EU, not least through its role within the G-77, in many multilateral and global bodies, notably the WTO and the UN (e.g. on climate change),

L. whereas the continuing reform programmes of successive Indian governments and the stable general economic conditions, despite financial crises in neighbouring states, have greatly facilitated development of the partnership,

M. having regard to the external trade commitments made by India at the Uruguay Round and in the WTO,

N. whereas the Union is determined to provide India with the technical assistance it requires to continue restructuring and reform in the areas of financial services and insurance, intellectual property and tariffs, to enable it to comply effectively with its obligations as a member of the WTO, and as a part of a balanced package of measures of mutual benefit to both the EU and India within the context of the next round of WTO negotiations, notably on agriculture, market access and the environment,

O. noting that the Indian economy and banking system withstood the South East Asian crisis more effectively than others in the region;

P. deeply concerned about all acts or incidents which appear to infringe the rights of religious or ethnic minorities and to give rise to tension and violence,

Q. welcoming the recent talks between Indian and Pakistani leaders,

R. noting the progress made by the Council and Commission in stepping up cooperation in the past year before India's nuclear tests, particularly in contacts between the Troika and India, within the EU-India Joint Committee and through ad hoc working parties,

S. having regard to the joint press release after the EU/India Troika ministerial meeting on 13 November 1998 in New Delhi, in which the EU welcomed the statement by the Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee at the 53rd UN General Assembly on disarmament and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and recalled developments following the Indian nuclear tests in May 1998,

T. regretting, however, that joint action is the poor relation compared with the bilateral relations independently pursued by the Member States and very much hoping to see the partnership between the EU and India strengthened,

U. welcoming, therefore, the publication by the Commission of a report on bilateral measures and hoping that the Member States will undertake, inter alia on the basis of this report, to ensure much greater consistency in measures relating to India, and urging them to give priority to joint R& D programmes, joint technology (notably environmental and renewable energy) application projects and joint promotion of technical and professional skills, particularly for the benefit of the developing and emerging economies,

V. believing that greater dialogue between Indian and European think-tanks can help to define important issues and policy options and should therefore be strengthened; considering, therefore, that the budget line for cooperation with the developing countries of Asia (B7-301) should be renamed to clearly ensure the legal base that allows the EU to provide financial aid for this dialogue, including seminars on security, where appropriate,

W. believing that a press and information unit should be set up within the European Commission delegation in New Delhi,

EU/India: Bilateral institutional relations

1. Believes that there is a considerable potential for an all-round bilateral relationship between the European Union and India, given India's values of democracy, cultural pluralism and a robust entrepreneurial spirit which are underpinned by free elections, an independent judiciary, a free national and regional press, active NGOs as well as an open and transparent civil society, and thus calls for the organisation of a comprehensive dialogue that covers all aspects of bilateral relations, including issues relating to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons;

2. Believes therefore that India should become a privileged partner of the European Union and its Member States in both political and economic terms;

3. Calls therefore on the Union to make the strengthening of its political and economic relations with India a priority of the common foreign and security policy;

4. Points out that the EU-India Enhanced Partnership Agreement is one of the new generation of agreements which seek to redefine the European Union's external action by giving it a clearer identity and political consistency;

5. Notes that the Commission's role in implementing the agreement is political as well as economic, which must be encouraged if the impact of the Union in its external action is not to suffer;

6. Calls on the Commission to strengthen significantly the staff and financial resources of its delegation in New Delhi;

7. Calls, consequently, on the Member States also to involve the Commission in their bilateral dialogue with the Indian authorities on the ground, a practice already introduced by some Nordic and Benelux countries;

8. Calls on the Council and Commission to propose to the Indian Government the holding of an annual Euro-Indian Summit;

9. Recognises that dialogue with the parliaments of Southern Asia, including India, is a crucial element of any real partnership in which the European Parliament must play an active role, which it is currently insufficiently resourced to undertake effectively;

10. Calls on the Council to support India's efforts to pursue the dialogue with ASEAN and within the ASEAN Regional Forum; further calls on the Council and Commission to help India to join the ASEM process, which can only benefit from the weight of Asia's largest democracy and economic potential;

Consequences of the nuclear tests and cooperation in the region

11. Recognises that India faces serious security problems, in particular that resulting from its border with the People's Republic of China, a country which recognises neither democracy nor the rule of law and which has a substantial nuclear arsenal;

12. Reiterates its condemnation of the nuclear tests conducted by India, as well as those subsequently carried out by Pakistan, in May 1998, and deplores the serious damage that these tests have caused both to regional stability and to global efforts at non-proliferation of nuclear arms;

13. Notes that the tests represent a departure from India's earlier policy of not exercising its nuclear option, and, on the other hand, is convinced that India can make considerable security and economic gains by reorienting its policies towards a determined pursuit of regional détente, increased economic and other cooperation at regional as well as global level and integration into the international non-proliferation regime;

14. Calls on India to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to support and actively contribute to the negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) and to prevent material, equipment and technology that can be used for the production of weapons of mass destruction being exported from India to other countries;

15. Urges the Indian government to commit itself not to assemble, further develop, test or deploy nuclear weapons if it genuinely wishes to see the five nuclear weapons powers as defined by the NPT commence meaningful negotiations towards honouring their 1995 NPT commitments towards the progressive elimination of all nuclear weapons;

16. Considers that the development of the EU-India partnership will depend on India's choices in relation to nuclear disarmament and India's commitment to the NPT;

17. Recognises that it is necessary both to obtain adherence by all states to the core treaties of the international non-proliferation regime and to ensure their effective implementation; considers India's call on the nuclear weapon states to negotiate the complete dismantling of nuclear arms as legitimate and recalls that the nuclear weapon states have undertaken, in Article VI of the NPT, to enter into negotiations on nuclear disarmament, with the ultimate aim of ridding the world of nuclear arms; stresses, however, that these commitments could be undermined by India and Pakistan if they continue to refuse to adhere to the NPT;

18. Considers that genuine stability and security in the region cannot be achieved by means of nuclear deterrence, but require an end to the current arms race, the taking of a whole series of confidence-building measures, notably by China, whose nuclear weapons policy is a source of concern and, finally, firm undertakings on the part of India, Pakistan and China to remove all potential nuclear threats in the region, together with arrangements to ensure verification of compliance with these undertakings;

19. Regrets that India has not signed the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines;

20. Recalls the difficult relations between India's central government and the state of Kashmir and calls for the partial autonomy provided for by Article 370 of the Indian Constitution to be established and for human rights to be respected in the region;

21. Warmly welcomes and supports the recent initiatives taken by the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan, especially the Lahore declaration of 21 February 1999, to build security and mutual confidence in South Asia and to establish a multi-structured bilateral dialogue to address all issues between them, including Jammu and Kashmir;

22. Stresses the importance for the two sides to continue talks on disarmament, peace-keeping and limiting the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and notes the steps taken by the Indian Government to restore trust in the region, particularly its commitment to renounce a first nuclear strike and the decision to take part in the negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) and to maintain strict controls on exports of nuclear technology and materials;

23. Commends the Indian authorities for the policy of accepting Tibetan refugees which they have followed over the past 40 years;

24. Urges India to continue the dialogue begun with Pakistan and welcomes India's efforts to strengthen regional cooperation between the member states of SAARC, in particular its efforts to promote the South Asian Free Trade Area, including the free trade agreement with Sri Lanka;

25. Encourages the Indian Government to continue its efforts to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the Nagaland question that guarantees the Naga people the greatest possible autonomy;

26. Urges India to redouble its efforts to develop SAARC (regional cooperation), SAFTA (free trade area) and SAPTA (preferential trade area),

Environment

27. Calls on the two sides to cooperate in working towards the environmental objectives established at the Kyoto Conference, particularly those relating to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and projects to help preserve biodiversity;

28. Urges the Commission to investigate ways of helping India to tackle air pollution in urban areas;

29. In the context of protecting biological diversity and indigenous resources, deplores the appropriation of Indian plants, seeds and crops such as Basmati rice and products of the Neem tree which are then modified and patented under Northern intellectual property regimes without the involvement and consent of, or reward for, the local custodians of such genetic resources;

30. Calls on the Indian Government to increase efforts for the preservation of indigenous peoples' land rights;

31. Calls on the Commission and India to continue the debate on the social and environmental aspects of trade within the WTO framework and to include Parliament in this debate;

Democracy and human rights

32. Calls on the Council to include the discussion of human rights and cooperation with a view to strengthening India's efforts in this area in all its bilateral and multilateral relations;

33. Regrets that, although India is a democratic state whose constitution guarantees the protection of human rights and despite its legislation and the international conventions it has ratified, worrying tensions exist between religions, castes and ethnic groups and urges the authorities and all the parties involved to avoid courses of action likely to inflame opinions or lead to violence and to work for full respect for the rights and beliefs of all other communities;

34. Urges India, in recognition of India's unreserved commitment to democracy, to do more to foster the principles of democracy and tolerance among its people;

35. Notes that there has been an escalation in attacks on Christians in and around Gujarat in the past year;

36. Calls on India to make every effort to protect the freedom to practise religion and religious institutions of all faiths;

37. Considers that problems linked to police brutality arise to a large extent from an inherited institutional and legal system which is inappropriate for today's needs and should be reformed as soon as possible;

38. Urges India to set up an independent organisation to monitor the police, and to ratify the Convention against torture without delay;

39. Urges the Indian authorities to introduce a moratorium on executions and calls on the Indian Parliament to step up its efforts to secure the definitive abolition of the death penalty;

40. Calls on the Indian Government to sign the statute of the International Criminal Court adopted by the diplomatic conference in Rome on 18 July 1998;

41. Calls on the Council and Commission to take the measures necessary to ensure compliance with basic social legislation, particularly as regards measures to combat child labour;

42. Notes that higher than average standards of literacy, health, expectation and general well-being have already been achieved in some parts of India and urges a combined drive to eliminate poverty and raise average standards everywhere;

43. Calls attention to the hundreds of fishermen still held in South-East Asian prisons, among them many Indian citizens, on the grounds of having violated maritime borders they were not even aware of and calls on India to take the lead in negotiating with concerned neighbouring countries the release of all fishermen detained for unintended violations, to adopt policies to protect the rights of fishermen to earn a living and to amend the Maritime Zone Act of the respective countries in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea;

44. Points out that the right to education is a fundamental right, recognises the increased efforts made by various Indian governments in this area and urges the authorities responsible to give priority to this fundamental right so that illiteracy can one day be totally eradicated in India;

45. Supports the opening of schools set up and run with the assistance of local communities;

46. Calls on the Commission to encourage the recruitment of Indian students to European universities under existing or new programmes;

47. Recognises the major efforts made by the Indian Government to eradicate the problem of child labour, but notes that the political and administrative circumstances at the grass roots' level in many places means that the laws are not being enforced and the problem persists;

48. Considers that the European Union can play an important role in combating the exploitation of children, in particular by helping the Indian authorities to establish a structure which will ensure that the parents are guaranteed a minimum income;

49. Urges the Indian Government to step up actions to stem the forced prostitution of girls from poor rural areas and neighbouring countries, for example Nepal;

50. Calls on the Commission to draw up a code of conduct for all European companies setting up in countries such as India, whereby producers voluntarily undertake to comply with minimum employment and wage criteria and not to employ children younger than the minimum school leaving age, in return for an appropriate incentive duly policed by independent inspectors;

51. Draws attention to warnings that the encouragement of foreign capital investment in recent years, unless accompanied by adequate legislation in the field of environment and labour, creates conditions liable to cause disasters comparable with the Union Carbide accident in Bhopal;

52. Calls on the Commission to assist the Indian Government as far as possible in its struggle to cope with the practical as well as legal aftermath of the Bhopal disaster, which still severely affects the daily lives of approximately 150 000 survivors;

53. Notes that the current way in which development aid is funded is not suited to the real needs on the ground and suggests that it should be reviewed in order to shift towards diversification and multiannual perspectives, bearing in mind the limited capacity of local communities to absorb the funds available and their changing needs, and should take a more inclusive approach to civil society;

Other aspects of the partnership

54. Considers that education for girls is of crucial importance since the facts show that educated women are at less risk from maternal and infant mortality;

55. Approves the Commission's efforts to improve the situation of women, particularly by encouraging girls to enrol at school and improving primary health care, reform of which it is partially funding, so as to end the regrettable persistence of age-old inequalities;

56. Recognises the decisive importance of female entrepreneurship in the life of numerous local communities and welcomes the new government's intention of enforcing a 33% quota of seats for women in national and local assemblies;

57. Points out that health education, measures to control unwanted births and the decentralisation of health care are crucial government programmes for the rural population of India and calls on the Commission to channel more development aid into them;

58. Recognises the work done by the Commission in the fight against AIDS and urges it to step up its efforts;

59. Notes the efforts made by the two sides to settle the problem of free movement of persons, but hopes that more will be done for European citizens in difficulty in India, who do not appear to have access to appropriate legal advice or to a fund which would help them pay lawyers' fees if they are imprisoned; also suggests that the Member States should rationalise their respective consular services by bringing them together in a central location under the EU flag;

60. Regrets, in this respect, the near monopoly held by US universities and high technology firms in the recruitment of and collaboration with Indian scientific and technical experts and calls on the Commission, within the framework of the EU-India Partnership, to promote improved contacts between EU universities and high technology companies and their Indian counterparts;

61. Notes that, because it lies between the world's two main producers of illicit opium, Myanmar and Afghanistan, India has become a transit country for drug traffic; calls, therefore, on the EU and India to combine their recognised expertise in information and space technology in a joint effort to combat drug trafficking and money laundering;

62. Urges the European Space Agency (ESA), in this context, to pursue its discussions with India's ISRO with the aim of them collaborating on the application of space technology, inter alia for the purposes of environmental protection and the development of natural resources throughout the developing world;

63. Urges the Commission to develop the dialogue it has launched with civil society in India, particularly with representatives of the panchayats and NGOs; regrets, however, that at the behest of the Member States many of its projects have been reduced to their economic elements alone;

64. Regrets that, despite the efforts made to encourage mutual comprehension and facilitate trade and investment, non-tariff barriers continue to hamper access to the Indian market for Community products, particularly textile and clothing products;

65. Approves the Commission's many initiatives to develop information, cooperation and exchange networks between Indian and European businesses, but considers that more effort should be made to develop social and economic sustainability and stresses the need to mention social objectives;

66. Recalls that the success of such initiatives cannot but facilitate the development of industrial and trade cooperation between India and the Union and help to iron out the remaining problems in the textiles, antibiotics and metal products sectors;

67. Welcomes the conclusion of the agreement on the gradual removal of tariff barriers;

68. Stresses, finally, the importance of ongoing cooperation between the two sides under the Research and Technological Development Programme, and urges the Commission to come forward with a list of priority projects yet to be covered by the Programme, particularly in fields such as high technology IT, telecommunications, environment, energy, medical and biotechnology research where they could complement existing EU programmes;

69. Expresses its wish to be involved in the review of the Enhanced Partnership Agreement scheduled for five years after it enters into force and any new form or mechanism of consultation between the Government of India and the European Commission;

70. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of the Member States, the Indian Government and Parliament and the SAARC.