Brussels, 5 November 2025 — The European Parliament this week hosted the EU–India Leaders Convention, bringing collectively senior policymakers, diplomats, and enterprise leaders to strengthen strategic and financial relations between the European Union and India.
Among the many distinguished audio system had been H.E. Angelika Niebler, Chair of the Delegation for Relations with India; H.E. Vladimir Prebilic, Member of the European Parliament; Mr. Sujit Nair, Chairman of the Europe India Centre for Enterprise & Trade (EICBI); Mr. John Alistair Clarke, former Director of Worldwide Affairs on the European Fee and former Head of the EU Delegation to the WTO and UN; and Dr. Werner Steinhögl, Head of Sector, DG CNECT C3, European Fee.
Representing India’s new era of thought leaders, Advocate CA. Harsh Patel, Founder & International CEO of Water & Shark, delivered a compelling deal with that blended authorized perception with pragmatic diplomacy — incomes consideration from each European and Indian delegates for his readability and foresight.
Past commerce: Construction as the inspiration of partnership
Talking on “Tax and Authorized Structure for EU–India Commerce Growth,” Patel emphasised that commerce discussions between India and the EU should evolve past tariffs and market entry.
“As we deepen the EU–India commerce relationship, the dialog should transfer past tariffs and market entry — towards structure and alignment,” he mentioned. “For companies and households working between India and Europe, success will depend upon how early and the way intelligently they construction their operations, wealth, and governance. The absence of construction usually prices greater than the absence of alternative.”
He argued that the EU–India hall shouldn’t be considered solely by means of the lens of free commerce, however by means of institutional cooperation — creating predictable tax, authorized, and regulatory frameworks that enable entrepreneurs, household workplaces, and enterprises to function throughout borders with readability and continuity.
“If commerce is the engine of development,” Patel concluded, “authorized and tax structure is the steering wheel. With out it, we transfer — however not essentially ahead.”
SMEs on the core of the EU–India development story
In the course of the panel dialogue on SME Participation in EU–India Commerce, Patel highlighted that whereas each India and Europe acknowledge the potential of small and medium enterprises, regulatory complexity stays their largest impediment.
“SMEs are the spine of each India and Europe — but most are held again not by alternative, however by complexity,” he famous. “We should simplify governance earlier than we liberalize commerce.”
He known as for the creation of a unified digital compliance window, predictable taxation frameworks, and mutual recognition of requirements — measures that may democratize bilateral commerce and make it extra inclusive.
“The objective needs to be to construct a hall the place an Indian SME can function in Europe as seamlessly as a European SME can put money into India,” he added. “Construction should precede technique — as a result of authorized and tax predictability is what turns entrepreneurs into exporters.”
A broader imaginative and prescient of partnership
Echoing Patel’s sentiments, each MEP Angelika Niebler and Vladimir Prebilic confused that the way forward for the EU–India relationship goes far past the conclusion of a Free Commerce Settlement.
They underlined the significance of a values-based partnership grounded in mutual respect, tradition, and human connection.
“Europe and India should not simply buying and selling companions; we’re strategic companions in democracy, know-how, and folks,” mentioned Niebler, reinforcing the message that cooperation should be sustainable and inclusive.
In regards to the speaker
Harsh Patel is an internationally acknowledged lawyer, chartered accountant, and entrepreneur, identified for his experience in international tax, wealth structuring, and cross-border regulation.
He leads Water & Shark, a multi-jurisdictional authorized and advisory community working in over 12 international locations, and advises royal household workplaces, international founders, and multinational teams on tax, governance, and regulatory frameworks.
Harsh Patel’s social media profiles:
Fb: https://www.fb.com/Harshp.LawyerCA/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harshpatel_lawyerca/
LinkedIn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harsh_Patel
A step towards structured globalization
Because the convention concluded, members agreed that the EU–India dialogue should proceed to focus not simply on coverage outcomes, however on institutional alignment and mutual understanding.
Patel’s intervention highlighted how construction, governance, and foresight type the spine of long-term prosperity — a message that resonated strongly amongst each European policymakers and Indian entrepreneurs.
“In diplomacy, as in enterprise,” Patel remarked, “belief is constructed not simply by what we commerce, however by how we construction it.”
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