NEW DELHI: India has sought a commitment from each of the 27 member-nations of the European Union on the number of Indian professionals they would allow to migrate every year in sectors of its interest.
Such a commitment would help India move faster in concluding the bilateral free trade agreement with the EU, a senior government official has told ET.
"We have asked the EU to be very specific in terms of the number of professionals that would be allowed in each country in the areas and categories of our interest ," the official said requesting anonymity.
While India has agreed to bring down duties on a large number of goods from the EU countries, including automobiles and liquor, as part of the free trade agreement, it is conditional upon the country gaining "substantially" in the services pact, the official said. For instance, India sees a lot of scope for Indian accountants in the UK and IT professionals in France, and it has sought access for them accordingly.
It makes sense for India to negotiate country-wise as the economic situation in entire Europe is not the same, said Arpita Mukherjee, professor with Delhibased Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).
"Since Eastern Europe has the same set of skills as India, it is not possible to get them to agree to commitments for independent professionals or contractual services suppliers, but it is not the same for economies such as France and Germany," Mukherjee said.
Countries in Europe have their own numerical limits on foreign workers and tax structure, but most give visas only to corporate transferees and business visitors and do not allow access to individual professionals and contractual service providers. "This is one area where India hopes to make strong gains as we have sought commitments for all four categories of service providers ," the official said.
For meaningful access into the European services market, it is also necessary to ensure that various restrictions in the form of qualification requirements and economic needs test (ENT) are removed , said Manab Majumdar, trade expert with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
European countries do not recognise qualifications gained in India and also apply the ENT in many cases where the hiring company has to prove that the post cannot be filled by European citizens.