Prateek Tanmay
3 min readNew DelhiJun 18, 2026 04:00 AM IST
European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that the EU will sign the Free Trade Agreement with India by the end of the year.
She made this comment after meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 Summit.
In another development, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz invited Modi to visit Germany later this year.
European Union’s von der Leyen posted on X, “Dear @narendramodi, it is a pleasure to meet again so soon. Since we have concluded the mother of all trade deals, we have been moving fast to deliver on our commitments. We will sign the Free Trade Agreement by the end of the year. And accelerate work on an investment agreement.”
“We will also step up security & defence cooperation,” she said, adding that EU and India will join forces for better connectivity by advancing IMEC, the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, PM Modi on Wednesday held a bilateral meeting with the President of the European Council António Costa and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Evian and recalling the landmark 16th India-EU Summit held in India in January 2026. The leaders welcomed the remarkable progress made in India-European Union relations since then.
“The leaders emphasized the recent conclusion of negotiations for the India-EU Free Trade Agreement as a historic achievement and stressed its expeditious signing and implementation, which would unlock huge opportunities for trade and investment and contribute towards diversification of supply chains, particularly in the current turbulent geopolitical context,” it said, referring to the wars in West Asia and Ukraine.
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“As the world’s two largest democracies, with open market economies and pluralistic societies, India and the EU share a relationship based on trust, shared values and a common vision for the future. The leaders discussed the progress on the Joint India-EU Comprehensive Strategic Agenda endorsed in January 2026 and shared the sentiment that it would further reinforce India-EU strategic partnership and deliver mutually beneficial and transformative outcomes,” it said.
Exchanging views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, it said that “the leaders welcomed the developments in West Asia. They reiterated their shared commitment to shaping a resilient multipolar global order that contributes to peace and stability, prosperity and sustainable development.”
On the meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, the MEA said that the leaders reviewed the progress in bilateral engagements and expressed satisfaction at the renewed momentum in the India-Germany Strategic Partnership, with the successful visit of the Chancellor to India and the conclusion of the India-EU FTA negotiations earlier this year.
Chancellor Merz invited Prime Minister Modi for the 8th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC), scheduled to be held later this year in Germany.
