EU-India summit to be held virtually over COVID concerns

A May summit between EU and Indian leaders will be held virtually instead of in-person as planned due to coronavirus concerns, New Delhi said Tuesday. https://www.eudebates.tv/ Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was originally set to visit the Portuguese city of Porto for the May 8 summit, but has canceled the trip amid India's rapidly worsening coronavirus outbreak.

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"In view of the COVID-19 situation, it has been decided, in consultation with the EU and Portuguese leadership, to hold the India-EU Leaders’ Meeting in a virtual format on 8 May 2021,” an Indian government spokesperson said in a statement. “The India-EU Leaders’ Meeting in the EU+27 format, the first time that such a meeting is being held, reflects the shared ambition of both sides to further deepen the Strategic Partnership.”

A spokeswoman for the Portuguese permanent representation to the EU said this was “the official line from both sides.”

Modi's no-show will be a blow to Portugal's original plan to make the India summit the diplomatic highlight of its six-month Council of the EU presidency.

The change of plan was prompted by India's rapidly worsening coronavirus outbreak. On Monday, India suffered a record-breaking 273,810 new daily infections. The total number of confirmed cases is now more than 15 million.

India’s infection rate has surged in recent days. On Tuesday, the country reported 259,170 new cases over the last 24 hours and 1,761 deaths.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday also canceled his plan to visit New Delhi. Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping canceled a planned summit with all EU leaders in Leipzig, Germany, owing to the pandemic.

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