Top EU leaders to visit India as Republic Day guests; likely to sign trade deal

India and the European Union are “very close” to a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), said the government, as both Delhi and Brussels formally announced the EU leadership will travel to India as chief guests for Republic Day and to hold the much-delayed EU-India summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The EU-India BTA talks were originally launched in 2007 and then re-launched in 2022, and negotiations were fast-tracked in February 2025 during a visit by European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen.

While the trade deal will be the focus of the visit, both sides are also expected to upgrade their strategic partnership, first announced in 2004, and adopt the new EU-India strategic agenda which includes cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.