European Commission president to visit India this week

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, along with the European Union (EU) College of Commissioners, will visit India on 27 February for a two-day tour, the ministry of external affairs said in a statement.

During the visit, von der Leyen and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold delegation-level talks, the ministry said.

The second ministerial meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council is also scheduled, alongside bilateral ministerial meetings between European commissioners and their Indian counterparts.

This will be von der Leyen’s first visit to India since her re-election as president last year, and overall, her third visit to the country. She last came to India in April 2022 on an official trip and later in September 2023 to participated in the G20 Leaders’ Summit.

.@EU_Commission President @vonderleyen to visit New Delhi on Feb 27-28 with the College of Commissioners!

This unprecedented visit highlights the growing momentum in 🇪🇺🇮🇳 ties —stay tuned. #EUIndiaEkSaath pic.twitter.com/pcfdiG0w5A

— EU in India (@EU_in_India) February 21, 2025

“India and European Union are strategic partners since 2004, and their bilateral ties have expanded and deepened across a wide range of areas. As the two sides enter the third decade of the strategic partnership, the visit of President von der Leyen and the EU College of Commissioners will pave the way for further strengthening of bilateral relations based on growing convergences,” the ministry said in a statement.

Von der Leyen and Modi have previously engaged in discussions on the sidelines of multilateral meetings.

This would be first time that the entire EU College of Commissioners will be on an official trip to India together. It is also one of the first visits by the European Commission since it started its current term in December 2024, after the European parliamentary elections in June 2024.

Von der Leyen’s India visit also comes against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump threatening the EU and India with tariffs.

Since his re-election last November, Trump has threatened to tax EU goods entering the US. He has been vocal about how the EU was “very, very bad to us. So they’re going to be in for tariffs. It’s the only way … you’re going to get fairness.”

This has left the EU scrambling to expand its scope beyond the West.

India, which had a friendly relation with the Trump administration in 2017, faces the heat this time around from the US President, who has accused the country of unfairly taxing Washington. Following this, Trump has threatened India with “reciprocal tariffs”.

India has also been actively pursuing FTA with the EU. However, issues such as tariffs, market access for European goods, data protection, and intellectual property rights have been sticking points.