'Free Trade Zone Of 2 Billion People': EU Chief Says 'Mother Of All Deals' With India Concluded

Ursula von der Leyen said that India and the EU had concluded the “mother of all deals,” creating a free trade zone of two billion people.

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday said Europe and India were “making history” after concluding what she called “the mother of all deals,” announcing the breakthrough in a post on X.

“Europe and India are making history today. We have concluded the mother of all deals. We have created a free trade zone of two billion people, with both sides set to benefit. This is only the beginning. We will grow our strategic relationship to be even stronger,” she wrote.

Europe and India are making history today.

We have concluded the mother of all deals.

We have created a free trade zone of two billion people, with both sides set to benefit.

This is only the beginning.

We will grow our strategic relationship to be even stronger. pic.twitter.com/C7L1kQQEtr

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) January 27, 2026

Soon after her post, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held delegation-level talks with her and the President of the European Council, António Luís Santos da Costa, at Hyderabad House in Delhi.

#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds delegation-level talks with the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen and the President of the European Council, António Luís Santos da Costa, at Hyderabad House in Delhi.

(Source: DD) pic.twitter.com/zn4ygZLZAR

— ANI (@ANI) January 27, 2026

Her declaration followed remarks she made a week earlier at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 20, where she had flagged that the two sides were on the verge of finalising the landmark pact.

“Right after Davos, I will travel to India. There is still work to do. But we are on the cusp of a historic trade agreement. Some call it the mother of all deals,” von der Leyen had said.

She had also underlined Europe’s push to deepen economic engagement globally, saying, “Europe wants to do business with the growth centres of today and the economic powerhouses of this century. From Latin America to the Indo-Pacific and far beyond, Europe will always choose the world. And the world is ready to choose Europe.”

India and the European Union are set to announce the conclusion of negotiations on the long-pending free trade agreement at their summit on January 27.

The EU is India’s biggest trading partner, with bilateral goods trade valued at USD 135 billion in 2023-24, and the FTA is expected to significantly enhance commercial ties amid global trade disruptions linked to Washington’s tariff policies.

Besides the trade pact, the two sides are also expected to unveil a defence framework agreement and a strategic agenda for 2026–2030, and launch talks on a Security of Information Agreement to boost industrial defence cooperation.

India and the EU have been strategic partners since 2004, while negotiations on the FTA, first launched in 2007 and revived in June 2022, are now nearing completion.