Report on the reinforced partnership between India and the European Union

Intervention by Olivier Dupuis

Monday 8 March 1999

Debate on the André-Léonard Report for a reinforced partnership EU/India.

Dupuis (ARE) - Mr. Chairman, I find it literally scandalous to put a report on the reinforced partnership between the European Union and India on a Friday. For China, for the great communist empire, we always find space on the agenda on a Wednesday or Thursday, but for the biggest democracy in the world, we only find five small minutes at the end of the parliamentary session period. It is absolutely scandalous! There are enormous progresses in India, there are possibilities of strategic partnership for the European Union with a nation of a billion inhabitants, and we treat it as if it were a small lost island in the middle of the pacific. Thus, I ask my colleagues to arrange for a debate to take place at least on Thursday.

Friday 12 March 1999

Mr. Chairman, Mr. Commissioner, Dear Colleagues, Sir Leon Brittan always tells us that there is no alternative to his policy of low bows and exaggerated politeness on the red carpets of Pekin; that there is no alternative to his policy, which is founded on the sacrifice of democracy, the sacrifice of the rule of law and freedom for Tibetans, Mongolians, inhabitants of Turkistan; that there is no alternative to the denial of human rights, that there is no alternative to the laogaïs. We do have the alternative. We have the Report of Mrs. André Leonard, which takes a certain number of steps in the right direction. That is where our alternative lies. India is the alternative for the European Union in its policy on Asia. It would be opportune to construct a real strategic partnership with this vast country of one billion inhabitants, compared to the 1.2 billion of China. It is the biggest democracy in the world, a country which, since the government of Mr. Rao, and without major changes by the government of Mr. V

ajpayee, which carried out substantial economic reforms and achieved just as substantial economic progress, is engaging in opening up to world markets, perhaps still somewhat slowly, but nonetheless towards a reinforcement of its relations with the whole of the worlds nations. So must we continue to follow Mr. Brittan, when he tells us that there is no alternative? Or should we, the Commission, the Council and our Parliament, make the effort to think about the possibilities of establishing a programme which could rapidly install a strategic relationship with this country.

We are still far from it. We have in New Delhi, a delegation of the European Commission which is entirely insufficient. Our parliament itself has no ad hoc delegation to India as it has with the Chinese communist empire. There is no annual EU-India summit. What is still lacking to our parliament, but even more so of the Council and the Commission, is a real strategy, measures which may allow us to tackle, with the right weapons the huge challenge of contributing to the ulterior deepening of the democracy in India.

I believe, and a number of colleagues have confronted this problem, that one does not need to look for alibis, one should not tell ourselves stories about the problem of nuclear testing in India. India, in its own right, gives itself the means to resist, just as we have done with the Soviet empire. Why should we be so tolerant of the striking power of the Chinese communist empire and scream like barn owls when India, who does not really have a problem with Pakistan, but with its communist imperious neighbour, gives itself the means of dissuasion like we did faced with the Soviet Empire. When the situation changed for us, when the Soviet Empire fell apart, and the threat dissipated, we were able to disarm. I think that as long as India faces such a country, she has the legitimate right to endow herself with the means which will allow it to resist. Dear Colleagues, and I congratulate Mrs. André Leonard for her report which integrates a certain number of elements, but certainly the ball is now in the Council's

camp, to put together a strategic calendar with the Indian Parliament , the Indian Government so that it may really become our privileged partner in Asia.