Report of Ms. André Léonard

Enhanced partnership EU -India

Motion for a resolution

AMENDMENTS by Mr Dupuis, on behalf of the ERA Group

* approved by the Committee on Foreign Affairs

Recital Ba (new)

Ba. whereas India is a crucial factor for stability and the encouragement of democratic development throughout Asia,

Paragraph 3a (new)

3a. Calls on the Council and Commission to propose to the Indian Government the holding of an annual Euro-Indian Summit;

Paragraph 18b (new)

18b. Commends the Indian authorities for the policy of accepting Tibetan refugees which they have followed over the past 40 years;

Paragraph 24a (new)

24a. Urges the Indian authorities to introduce a moratorium on executions and calls on the Indian Parliament to step up its efforts to secure the definitive abolition of the death penalty;

Paragraph 25a (new)

25a. Calls on the Commission to encourage the recruitment of Indian students to European universities under existing or new programmes;

* Amendments carried by the plenary

Recital E a (new)

E a. Whereas the enormous economic strides India has made over recent years, the progressive and consistent opening up of its market and the major improvements in the living standards of the people should nonetheless be emphasised,

Paragraph 1a (new)

1 a. Believes therefore that India should become a privileged partner of the European Union and its Member States in both political and economic terms;

Paragraph 1b (new)

1b. Calls therefore on the Union to make the strengthening of its political and economic relations with India a priority of the common foreign and security policy;

Paragraph 3a (new)

3a. Calls on the Commission to strengthen significantly the staff and financial resources of its delegation in New Delhi;

Paragraph 7a (new)

7a. Recognises that India faces serious security problems, inparticular that resulting from its border with the People's Republic of China, a country which recognises neither democracy nor the rule of law and which has a substantial nuclear arsenal;

Modify paragraph 17 as follows:

17. Warmly welcomes and supports the recent initiatives takes by the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan, especially the Lahore declaration of 21 February 1999, to build security and mutual confidence in South Asia and to establish a multi-structured bilateral dialogue to address all issues between them, including Jammu and Kashmir;

Modify the paragraph 18 as follows:

18. Stresses the importance... biological weapons and notes the steps taken by the Indian Government to restore trust in the region, particularly its commitment to renounce a first nuclear strike and the decision to take part in the negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) and to maintain strict controls on exports of nuclear technology and materials;

Paragraph 20a (new)

20a. Encourages the Indian Government to continue its efforts to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the Nagaland question that guarantees the Naga peoples the greatest possible autonomy;

Paragraph 34a (new)

34a. Calls on the Indian Government to sign the statute of the International Criminal Court adopted by the diplomatic conference in Rome on 18 July 1998;

Modify paragraph 64 as follows:

64. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the governments of the Member States, the Indian Government and Parliament and the SAARC.

* Amendments rejected by the plenary

Recital Ca (new)

C a. Whereas it is regrettable that the European Union has hitherto favoured political and economic relations with other Asian countries overtly opposed to the principles of the rule of law and democracy,

Paragraph 1c (new)

1c. Calls on the Council, in view of India's strategic importance in the South-Asian region and its decisive role in maintenance of stability and the enhancement of the rule of law in the region, to propose and support, as part of the reform of the United Nations, the creation of a permanent seat for India on the UN Security Council;

Modify paragraph 12 as follows:

12. Considers that the development of the EU-India partnership will be facilitated by India's attitude towards nuclear disarmament and by its commitment to the NPT;

Paragraph 17a (new)

17a. Emphasises that the support which terrorist organisations operating in Kashmir receive from third countries is a serious obstacle to the resolution of the current conflict;

Modify paragraph 58 as follows

58. welcomes the efforts being made by both sides to improve mutual market access both in terms of trade and investment and calls upon the parties to continue these efforts to remove the remaining barriers;