With the European Union's top leadership set to arrive in India as chief guests for the Republic Day celebrations and an India-EU summit lined up, momentum is building for what could become one of the most consequential trade agreements of the decade, the long-pending India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
In an interview with NDTV's Aditya Raj Kaul, Italy's Ambassador to India, Antonio Bartoli, struck an optimistic note, calling the moment "the right time" and pointing to a convergence of political, economic and strategic interests between New Delhi and Brussels.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has already described the proposed pact as the "mother of all deals", and the Italian envoy suggested that the political groundwork is now firmly in place. "When you sign an agreement that is based on win-win conditions and by putting aside the irritants, what remains is substantive," he said, adding that the agreement would not just boost trade but also deepen the wider strategic partnership between India and the EU across sectors such as science, technology, innovation, security, culture and education.
The significance of this push comes against a backdrop of growing global economic uncertainty. The return of protectionist impulses in the United States, especially President Donald Trump's renewed talk of tariffs – including controversial statements linked to Greenland and European countries – has unsettled transatlantic partners and global markets alike. Ambassador Bartoli suggested that this unpredictability has, in fact, underlined Europe's value as a stable and reliable partner for India.
"From the Indian perspective, this is exactly one of the main advantages of Europe," he said. "We are predictable. We are reliable. We don't conceive international relations as a zero-sum or purely transactional game." He described India and Europe as "ancient civilisations" with a peer-to-peer approach, capable of long-term, consistent cooperation in key sectors.
The forthcoming visit of EU leaders, combined with the summit in Delhi, is being seen in diplomatic circles as a potential turning point. If the trade negotiations move decisively forward, it would mark one of the largest and most complex economic agreements India has ever signed, covering market access, investment, standards, technology and supply chains at a time when both sides are keen to reduce strategic dependencies.
Beyond the EU framework, the ambassador also highlighted the rapidly deepening bilateral relationship between India and Italy, underscored by the visible personal chemistry between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. However, he was quick to point out that this warmth is rooted in "objective convergences" between the two countries.
Italy, he noted, is the second industrial powerhouse in the European Union and has particular strengths in machinery, advanced manufacturing and its network of small and medium enterprises - precisely the kind of capabilities India needs as it seeks to become a global industrial hub. "You don't want to work only with the big guys," he said, stressing the importance of SME-driven industrial partnerships.
A key area of future cooperation will be artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. With India set to host an AI summit in February 2026, the ambassador confirmed that Italy will participate at the political level. He pointed out that Italy is among the world's top supercomputing hubs and has already established an AI hub for Africa in Rome in partnership with the UNDP. "We have a lot of technologies, we have a lot to share," he said, adding that India and Italy could also work together for development projects in Africa.
On the geopolitical front, the envoy addressed the controversy surrounding Trump's statements on Greenland and NATO. He acknowledged that Italy and other European countries consider some of these positions to be mistakes but stressed that NATO remains the "common home" linking Europe and North America. At the same time, he conceded that such pressures are pushing Europe to accelerate efforts toward greater strategic autonomy.
"Prime Minister Meloni told frankly as a friend to President Trump that Italy considers this a mistake but NATO is the common home and a bridge between the two shores," he said.
As India and the EU prepare for a high-profile diplomatic week in Delhi, expectations are high that the talks could finally unlock a deal years in the making. If successful, it would not only reshape trade flows but also signal a broader realignment, with India and Europe positioning each other as dependable partners in an increasingly fragmented and unpredictable world.
