When historians reach 2025, they will have recorded a year in which they might be able to ignore the ruptures in world order. Relevant guidelines, export controls and economic dependencies will return coercive tools and in some cases seize weapons. These tendencies have not been operated at all in the last year. By 2024, the bars in world trade will triple, but by 2025 we will have two bastidos on the main stage, when fragmentation risks becoming a reality.
These newspaper headlines and news channels deliver a story of conflict and protectionism: of countries turning to us to erect new barriers and instrumentalize interdependence. This report reflects the truth about the changing world in which we live, but it does not matter about the history of the whole and it certainly does not matter about the history of Europe.
2026 will be remembered as the year in which Europe responded to this new world and proved that it is possible to discover a different path. From energy to security, we strive to strengthen our strategic independence. And let’s do it without hiding behind barreras tarifárias or our focus on the world. In Europe, he is pioneering another path: resilience within with openness to the outside, because today it is not necessarily due to isolation, but rather to diversification.
And Europe is not alone. From Canada to India, from Latin America to Southeast Asia, these countries provide a model that preserves openness while reducing dependency. Europe is not at the center of this process, not as expected, but as an engine.
At the beginning of this summer in Paraguay, we will reach an agreement between the EU and Mercosul, which will create a corn market of 700 million people and corn exclusively in Europe and Latin America as a moment of global realization. I am now in New Delhi to close a major business deal that has been reached for a University in Europe or India.
The EU-India agreement will immediately benefit European businesses and citizens. India accounts for more than €180 million of annual trade in goods and services in the EU, contributing to the creation of 800,000 jobs in Europe. Our thermoses agree, aduaneiros directions will be removed or reduced by 90% from commercial trocas. European exporters avoid at least 4 million euros annually in alphanumeric directions and expect EU exports to never double in the next few years.
But it’s not just about getting caught in troubled times. Treat yourself to try it out as appropriate. This deal is an investment in a long-term investment between two defining factors of the 21st century. India is the most populous country in the world and its economy is growing rapidly alongside the major economies. With annual growth above 6%, India will support global growth over the decade. We don’t just want to intensify our business ties between the two sides: we will invest in our future. This agreement provides the best terms that India would offer to any party. European companies will benefit from advantages that their competitors will not be able to take advantage of as they will be in a privileged position to help shape and share their growth with Indian parcels. India will gain some confidence and self-confidence to invest in its global rise.
European farmers will also benefit. Europe currently exports maize agri-food products to China and from now on to India. This agreement will help reduce this gap. Those driven by Indians over wine will be reduced from 150% to 20%. The above prices will go 40% to zero. Every moment opening new opportunities for European farmers in the vast consumer market. At the same time, sensitive aspects of Europe are fully protected. No tax cuts are being considered for beef, capoeira or meat, and imports from India continue to be subject to all EU health, safety and environmental regulations.
Trade agreements often appear to be merely technical in nature, but their effect is simple: when the world is shrouded in uncertainty, trade agreements are warranted and this aspect is important. It is important for the Douro wine producer to decide whether to invest in increasing its assets or for a technology company from the northern Alentejo countries to consider whether to hire a new person to adapt an application moving to a distant market.
This agreement goes beyond the economic sphere. Europe is responsible for its defense just as we are responsible for our prosperity. In security, as in business, we recognize the importance of diversifying our options as we attend the first EU-India Security and Defense Sector Summit this week. That’s still a sign of the magnitude of the things we travel around the world and how new things can be created. We are strengthening ties between our defense industry and our armed forces, including joint maritime exercises to combat piracy and protect the maritime wheels of life.
As the global order continues to fracture, we are showing Europe and India that it is possible to ignore them elsewhere, at the expense of comparison.
The moment we live in is not compatible with nostalgic politics. The world is not going to turn into certainty quickly. Failure to do so will result in stability, it will only ensure decline. Europe’s response is to engage more closely with friendly partners in pursuit of diversification, cooperation and strength, without illusions and without fear.
President of the Comissão Europeia
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