EU Insight 30 January 2026

Brussels, 30 January 2026

EU AND INDIA SIGN LANDMARK FREE TRADE DEAL AFTER NEARLY 20 YEARS OF TALKS

After almost two decades of on and off talks since 2007, the EU and India have concluded negotiations and signed a far-reaching free trade agreement, creating a free trade zone of around two billion people. The deal removes or cuts tariffs across key industrial sectors, including chemicals, machinery and aircraft, and gradually brings duties on car imports down from 110% to 10% within a limited quota. The agreement also delivers major openings for EU service providers, in particular in financial services, while reducing duties on a wide range of processed agricultural products and manufactured goods such as handicrafts. At the same time, some sensitive agricultural commodities on both sides remain strongly protected. EU and Indian leaders have hailed the deal as a historic step in their strategic partnership.

COMMISSION UNVEILS MIGRATION AND VISA STRATEGIES

The Commission has presented a new European Asylum and Migration Management Strategy and adopted the first ever EU Visa Strategy, setting political priorities for the next five years. Both build on a combination of tighter border control and efforts to strengthen the EU’s competitiveness. The migration strategy focuses on cooperation with partner countries, stronger external border management and a balance between responsibility and solidarity among Member States. The visa roadmap, while reinforcing security screening, also aims to modernise and digitalise travel procedures, including through ETIAS and online visa applications. Together with a parallel recommendation on attracting talent, both initiatives seek to bring in and retain highly qualified non-EU nationals by easing procedures and improving recognition of foreign qualifications, with the overarching goal of boosting EU innovation.

COUNCIL AGREES ON RUSSIAN GAS BAN, WHILE EU INVESTS IN ENERGY GRID

EU countries have approved a regulation to phase out Russian pipeline gas and LNG imports to the Union. The ban will be rolled out gradually, with Russian LNG to stop entering the EU from early 2027 and pipeline gas from autumn 2027. The rules also introduce checks on the origin of gas supplies and require national diversification plans, including for countries that still import Russian oil. In parallel, the Commission announced it will invest nearly €650 million from the Connecting Europe Facility in 14 cross border energy projects. This includes upgraded electricity links, pumped storage hydropower, smart grids and measures to protect critical infrastructure in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as new hydrogen infrastructure to support the energy transition.

THE EU AND BRAZIL SIGN AN AGREEMENT ON FREE DATA FLOW