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10th MEETING OF THE INDIA-EU ROUND TABLE
Vienna, Austria
7-8 June 2006
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. The India-EU Round Table held its 10th meeting in Vienna on 7-8 June 2006.
2. The Round Table provides a forum for civil society cooperation and contributes to the enhancement of bilateral relations between India and the EU. The political decision to set up the India-EU Round Table was taken at the Lisbon Summit of June 2000. The first meeting of the India-EU Round Table was held in New Delhi on 2930January 2001. The recommendations of the meetings of the Round Table are forwarded to the European Institutions and to the Government of India, to be considered at the annual EU-India Summits.
3. On the occasion of the 10th Round Table meeting, the members were honoured by the participation of Mr Sheel Kant Sharma, Ambassador of India to Austria, and of MrMartin Sajdik, Head of the Department for Integration and Economic Policy of the Austrian Foreign Ministry, representing the Austrian Presidency of the EU, who made a presentation on EU-India relations.
4. The Round Table recognises the significance of its tenth meeting, which will provide the opportunity to contribute to the next India-EU Summit, to be held on the 13October 2006 during the Finnish Presidency of the EU Council.
5. During the meeting in Vienna, the members of the Round Table discussed three main topics: energy, social development and minorities, with, for the latter, the contribution of Ms Beate Winkler, Director of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC), and of various Austrian NGOs working in the field of minorities rights.
6. The Round Table reaffirms its commitment to fully participate in the implementation of the India-EU Joint Action Plan launched in September 2005, as mentioned in the Contribution of the EU-India Round Table to the India-EU Joint Action Plan. Within this context, it expresses the wish that its co-chairs will be able to present its recommendations during the next EU-India Summit.
7. The members of the Round Table noted the need to address problems arising from restrictive visa regimes that affect the movement of natural persons.
8. The Round Table appreciates the progress made in the implementation of the detailed common undertakings included in the Joint Action Plan.
The 10th India-EU Round Table adopted the following recommendations:
Social development
The topic was introduced by the presentations of papers elaborated by Ms Erika Koller, Ms Madi Sharma and Ms Sylvia Sciberras on the EU side and Ms Mirai Chatterjee on the Indian side.
9. The Round Table recommends that the hereinafter-mentioned activities may be included within the ongoing State Partnership Agreements, or developed through EU support to all-India health and education programmes.
10. Furthermore, a consultative process for discussion on the following issues could take place between Round Table members on both sides for sharing experiences and activities. Members of the Round Table have taken commitments to contribute actively to this exchange of information. In this context, the Internet Forum could also be a useful instrument to contribute to the exchange of experiences and best practises.
Employment
11. While European workers still experience transition of an industrial economy into an economy of services, India faces the challenge of providing sustained employment to its informal workforce, especially in rural areas. Therefore, specific efforts may be organised for providing employment oriented, training and skill upgradation programmes, in which civil society organisations could clearly play a valuable role.
Social security
12. The RT recognises the challenges, faced both by EU countries and India, in providing social security schemes to their populations. The Round Table supports all possible efforts for providing social security for workers of the informal sector who represent the majority of the workforce in India. The RT will promote exchanges of information and experiences regarding the long-term sustainability of social security in the EU countries and India.
Health
13. The Round Table takes note of the recent report of the UNICEF, Progress for Children, which reports that the worst levels of underweight children below the age of five are found in South Asia. Under-nutrition remains a crucial challenge for India and the EU shall support all efforts in India to improve health and nutrition of young children such as expansion of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and creches and their quality enhancement through capacity building of the anganwadi workers.
14. Universal, efficient and affordable public health services as well as regulated private health sector would remain priorities for both EU countries and India and exchanges of experiences and good practices in this field should be encouraged.
15. AIDS remains a problematic public health issue in India and in EU countries. The fight against AIDS must not slow down and must keep a multilevel approach, from family planning and sexual education to research for new treatments. India and the EU could encourage more exchanges and a concrete cooperation in these fields, taking into account the social and economic determinants and consequences of this disease.
Education
16. The Round Table commends India’s achievements in the quality of its universities and education institutes and urges India to continue to provide sustained priority to primary education, especially in rural areas, in order to increase the average levels of education among its population. Keeping children at school would also be a good way to fight against child labour.
17. The Round Table supports all efforts made by the EU and India to increase academic exchanges and the mobility of students and welcomes the increased India access to Erasmus Mundus.
Women
18. While there may be more varied issues relating to the status of women in India as compared to the EU situation, the EU and India face some similar challenges, especially regarding equal remuneration at the workplace and domestic violence. Gender is a critical political issue, and civil society organisations can be instrumental in raising awareness, disseminating information and promoting capacity building on these issues, in order to change mind-sets and to overcome problems. In this context, the RT welcomes the provision of budgetary support for the promotion of gender programmes in India.
19. The Round Table appreciated India’s decision to reserve one-third of all village council (panchayat) seats for women. The round Table believes that this type of affirmative action to empower women might be relevant also for many other democratic societies.
Energy
The topic was introduced by the presentations of papers elaborated by Mr Lutz Ribbe and MrSukhdev Sharma on the EU side and Mr Manoj Joshi on the Indian side.
20. India and the EU both need energy resources to sustain their economic growth, and both are still heavily dependent on imports. It is therefore essential to secure the main supply routes through peaceful cooperation with all concerned parties and to diversify as much as possible their providers.
21. As existing fossil fuel reserves are fast reducing, India and the EU will inevitably need to diversify their energy resources. The Round Table believes that all possible energy resources, including bio-fuels, must be seriously considered, taking into account their relative costs, especially for the poorest consumers, as well as the protection of environment.
22. The Round Table stresses that renewable energies shall be crucial for the future of our societies and urges India and EU countries to increase public investment, encourage private investments to develop, strengthen and enlarge all renewable energy resources and devote specific attention to decentralised structures, especially in rural areas.
23. India and certain EU Member States utilise nuclear energy for civilian uses. Considering the increasing scarcity of hydrocarbons, and the ever increasing demand therefore, the EU and India should develop effective cooperation for further development of and increased access to civil nuclear energy.
24. India and the EU need to cooperate in ways that would help newer, cleaner and cost effective energy sources to be better exploited. This could include joint research and development in new areas as well as better access to existing technologies by facilitating relevant intellectual property rights to be brought into the public domain or at least lower the cost of access to them. One suggested area of cooperation would be on clean coal technologies to ensure that the enhanced use of coal does not adversely affect the environment. The cooperation in ITER is also an important positive step in this direction.
25. The Round Table stressed that significant quantities of energy could be saved through improved infrastructures and technologies and a more concerted approach from States, enterprises and consumers towards energy consumption. Multilevel policies involving all the stakeholders should be launched in order to achieve this goal.
26. The Round Table emphasises that the quest for energy resources should take into account the principles of sustainable development and of sustainable lifestyles.
27. The Round Table is willing to contribute to the debate on energy in its next meetings and to present its ideas to the India-EU Energy Panel.
Minorities
28. Although India and EU countries have made commendable efforts to ensure the equal rights of minorities, some groups still face discrimination or feel discriminated against.
29. The Round Table stresses the importance of continuing to take all necessary measures to preserve unity in diversity by peaceful and practical means, reaffirming the universal rights enshrined in the different constitutions. It also encourages the integration of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in the European Treaties.
30. The Round Table underlines that the respect of minorities’ rights begins at school, in the textbooks, through civic education and an objective approach to History.
India-EU Civil Society Internet Forum
31. The Round Table decides to launch the Forum at an early date, bearing in mind the commitment made in the India-EU Joint Action Plan.
Vienna, 8 June 2006
N.N. VohraIndia co-Chairperson / Anne-Marie Sigmund
EU co-Chairperson