Swedish Prime Minister arrives in India for 10th India-EU summit - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt on Thursday arrived in New Delhi for 10th India-EU summit. The summit is scheduled to take place on Friday. India and Sweden are expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on environment. The MoU will cover climate change, environmental protection and governance, air-water quality, clean technology and clean development mechanisms. The MoU will lead to the setting of a joint working group to oversee the implementation. Indian and European Union leaders meeting is expected to provide fresh impetus to stalled talks on a new trade pact. The two sides launched negotiations in 2007 for a free trade agreement (FTA), but progress has been hampered because of differences over intellectual property rights and EU efforts to link trade with climate and India's social sector performance. An FTA between the EU and India could improve market access for goods and services, covering all trade except for public procurement, which India is reluctant to include in the pact. India is also concerned, among other things, about costly certificates for exporting fruit to the EU and conformity procedures for the EC mark. India, which insists developed countries take deeper carbon emission cuts and fund developing nation's climate actions, has opposed efforts, including by the EU, to remove the distinction between rich and poorer countries.