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Costa welcomes EU-India trade agreement and recalls Goa’s Indian roots

by AI | 27.Jan 2026 | Europe in brief AI

Costa mentioned his paternal Indian origin, with roots in Goa, and the relaunch of negotiations on the trade agreement during the fourth Portuguese presidency of the EU (in 2021) when he was prime minister

Photo European Unios 2026

New Delhi – The President of the European Council today welcomed the historic moment of concluding negotiations for a trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and India, recalling his Indian roots and the 2021 Porto summit.
“Today is a historic moment: we are opening a new chapter in our relations in trade, in security and in people-to-people ties,” said António Costa, speaking in New Delhi at the end of the 16th EU-India summit.
“I am the President of the European Council, but I am also an Indian citizen and therefore, as you can imagine, [today] has a special meaning for me [because] I am very proud of my roots in Goa, where my father’s family comes from,” admitted the former Portuguese prime minister, also recalling when the Portuguese presidency of the Council of the EU organized the Porto summit in May 2021, which made it possible “to relaunch the trade negotiations” that have now been concluded.
“The connection between Europe and India is something personal for me,” noted António Costa, in his remarks alongside the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
The EU and India today concluded, after 18 years, negotiations for “the greatest of all trade agreements”, aiming at a barrier-free market for two billion people.
During the Portuguese presidency of the Council of the EU, in the first half of 2021, India and the EU agreed to negotiate a trade agreement, another on investment protection and one on geographical indications.
The EU-India trade negotiations began in 2007, but were blocked due to environmental and agricultural concerns and were resumed in 2022, having been finalized today.
About 25% of the world’s population is at stake.
“Our summit sends a clear message to the world: at a time when the global order is being profoundly redefined, the European Union and India remain united as strategic and reliable partners,” stressed the former prime minister.
The trade agreement strengthens economic and political ties in the face of growing geopolitical tensions and global economic challenges, particularly after the tariff threats by the United States against European countries, which have since been withdrawn. (01/27/26)