E-Paper
EU-India meet delayed over coronavirus fears
Modi had been expected to visit Brussels for the India-EU Summit to be held on March 13. The proposed summit was under a cloud because the European Parliament is expected to vote on a resolution critical of India’s Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) later this month.
India and the European Union (EU) on Thursday announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Brussels for a summit meeting, expected to be held next week, would be rescheduled in view of precautionary measures related to the Coronavirus outbreak.
Modi had been expected to visit Brussels for the India-EU Summit to be held on March 13. The announcement came a day after the European Defence Agency (EDA) confirmed that one of its staffers tested positive for the novel coronavirus and cancelled all meetings to be held at its premises until March 13.
The proposed summit was under a cloud because the European Parliament is expected to vote on a resolution critical of India’s Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) later this month. The resolution was debated in January but a vote was deferred – a move that was seen as being aimed at allowing the summit to go ahead smoothly.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told a news briefing that India and the EU agreed “it would be wise to reschedule the summit to a later mutually convenient date” as health authorities had advised against travel between regions.
“The decision has been taken in the spirit of the close cooperation between India and the EU, who share the same concerns and commitment to global health and hope that the (Covid-19) outbreak is contained soon,” he said.
A statement issued by the EU said the two sides jointly decided to postpone the summit because of “precautionary measures related to the global spread of Covid-19”. It added, “In the meantime, we will continue work on our joint agenda to make progress across all aspects of our relations.”
The EDA official who contracted the virus visited Italy last week. After returning to Brussels, he met at least 30 officials from other EU bodies. He began feeling sick on February 29 and tested positive for COVID-19, reports said.
The European Parliament resolution figured in external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s discussions when he visited Brussels last month and interacted with EU officials to explain India’s position on the CAA and related issues.
The resolution agreed on by six of the largest political groups in the European Parliament stated that the law is “discriminatory in nature and dangerously divisive” and called on the Indian government to repeal “discriminatory amendments”.
India insisted the law is an internal matter but also said it was willing to engage with the members of the European Parliament on the issue.
The CAA is aimed at fast-tracking the grant of Indian citizenship to non-Muslim minorities from Muslim-majority Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It has drawn flak domestically and overseas for perceived religious discrimination and for diluting India’s secular ethos by tying citizenship to religion.
