Ireland has officially assumed the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union from July 1, 2026, and from New Delhi, the country's top diplomat is already making the stakes clear. Kevin Kelly, Irish Ambassador to India, has expressed strong optimism that the long-awaited EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will be signed before Ireland's six-month presidency concludes on December 31, 2026 — a development that would represent one of the most significant milestones in EU-India relations in decades.
Speaking to IANS in New Delhi at the launch event for Ireland's EU Presidency, Ambassador Kelly said: "Our big hope is that the EU Free Trade Agreement with India will finally be signed before the end of our presidency. That's our ambition, and we're hoping it will happen. We'll be doing everything we can." He went further in separate remarks to ANI, adding: "If I were a betting man, I might put money on this one because I'm very hopeful that we will get this agreement finalised before the end of the year." Kelly called the proposed pact a potential "game changer" for both sides, saying it would reduce tariffs and create far greater opportunities for businesses and investors across the EU and India alike.
Where Negotiations Actually Stand
Ambassador Kelly's optimism is grounded in a significant milestone in the negotiating process. The negotiations have been completed, and legal experts on both sides are now reviewing the text to ensure it stands up to legal scrutiny. This legal scrubbing phase — known as "legal review" — is the final stage before a trade agreement can formally be signed, meaning the substantive negotiations between EU and Indian trade officials are effectively done. Kelly acknowledged this directly, saying: "It's now at a stage where all the hard work has been done," and expressed hope that the Irish Presidency of the European Council would be remembered as the period when the EU-India FTA was finally brought to conclusion.
The EU-India trade negotiations have had a long and complicated history. Formal talks were first launched in 2007 but stalled in 2013 over disagreements on tariffs, intellectual property, data protection, and investment rules. Negotiations were relaunched in June 2022 under India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, with both sides committing to conclude a "comprehensive, ambitious, balanced and mutually beneficial" trade deal covering goods, services, investment, and geographical indications. Since the relaunch, 11 rounds of formal negotiations have taken place, with the most recent rounds accelerating significantly heading into mid-2026.
Ireland's Broader EU Presidency Agenda
As Ireland takes over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU for the next six months from July to December 2026, Ambassador Kelly has emphasized that deepening ties with New Delhi and the broader Indo-Pacific region is a defining feature of Ireland's presidency agenda. The presidency is structured around three overarching priorities: Competitiveness, Values, and Security, under the motto "Strength with Unity." Within these pillars, Kelly highlighted several areas where Ireland will actively work to advance EU-India cooperation beyond trade — including technology, research, climate action, maritime security, resilient supply chains, and digital cooperation.
The EU increasingly sees India as one of its most important strategic partners, a position Kelly said is directly reflected in Ireland's Presidency programme, which highlights both the importance of the Indo-Pacific and the priority attached to the EU's relationship with India. Kelly underscored the scale of what is at stake: "Together, India and the European Union account for almost two billion people. We are vibrant democracies, major economic powers and increasingly indispensable partners in addressing global challenges." For full reporting on Ambassador Kelly's statements and Ireland's EU Presidency agenda, see detailed coverage from ANI News.
Why an EU-India FTA Would Be Transformative
The scale of what a finalized EU-India FTA would unlock is hard to overstate. The EU is already India's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade in goods and services exceeding €130 billion annually. A comprehensive FTA covering goods tariff reductions, services market access, investment protections, intellectual property rights, and digital trade rules would be the most ambitious trade agreement either side has concluded with a major strategic partner in the current era. For India, it would open the door to significantly larger EU market access for pharmaceuticals, IT services, textiles, and engineering goods. For the EU, it would deepen access to one of the world's fastest-growing consumer markets and a critical partner in the global supply chain diversification away from China.
India's Role in Ireland's Own Economy
Ambassador Kelly also highlighted the personal and economic importance of India to Ireland itself, noting the growing contribution of Indian professionals to the Irish economy — particularly in IT, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare. Kelly stressed that Ireland needs skilled Indian talent, noting that like many European countries, Ireland faces an ageing population and requires an injection of the dynamic skills and talent that come from India. Kelly also drew attention to Ireland's surprising cricket victory over India in a recent bilateral series, calling it a sign of growing people-to-people ties and an opportunity to deepen cultural bonds between the two countries alongside the formal diplomatic agenda.
What Comes Next
With legal experts now combing through the final text on both sides, the coming weeks and months will determine whether Kelly's optimism translates into a historic signing ceremony before Ireland hands over the EU Council Presidency on December 31, 2026. If the legal review concludes without major complications — and both the EU College of Commissioners and the Indian cabinet give their political sign-off — the signing could realistically take place at an EU-India Summit before year's end. A failure to close the deal during Ireland's presidency would not kill the agreement, but it would add another chapter of delay to one of the most protracted trade negotiations in EU history.