New Delhi: The European Council president, António Luís Santos da Costa, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, will be the chief guests of India’s Republic Day celebrations on January 26. The Ministry of External Affairs has announced that Costa and von der Leyen will also co-chair the 16th India-EU Summit on January 27.An India-EU Business Forum is also expected to be organised on the sidelines of the summit.During their visit, Costa and von der Leyen are scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu and hold both restricted and delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at whose invitation they are visiting the country.The EU’s press release notes that this will be the first time that the leaders of the European Union will be attendeding Republic Day Parade celebrations as guests of honour, “signalling the strengthening of the bilateral relationship between the EU and India.”The MEA noted in its announcement that India and the European Union are strategic partners since 2004. It said that the 15th India-EU Summit was held virtually five years ago, on July 15, 2020. “Bilateral ties have expanded and deepened across a wide range of areas, particularly following the historic visit of EU College of Commissioners to India in February 2025,” it added.The MEA said that the participation of EU leaders as chief guests at the 77th Republic Day and the 16th India-EU Summit will further deepen India-EU Strategic Partnership and advance collaboration in priority areas of mutual interest.The EU release said the summit is aimed “at building on the EU-India strategic partnership and further strengthening collaboration across key policy areas. Trade, security and defence, the clean transition and people to people cooperation will top the agenda of the discussions.”In October 2025, the EU’s release added, the EU council endorsed the new strategic EU-India agenda, and its objective of further developing EU-India ties. “In so doing it placed specific focus on prosperity and sustainability, technology and innovation, security and defence, and connectivity and global issues,” it said.While the MEA’s release does not explicitly confirm other outcomes of the summit, the timing of the visit implies that India and the European Union are poised to sign a long-awaited free trade agreement (FTA) on January 27.European officials have publicly indicated progress on the trade pact, albeit with politically sensitive issues still being worked out. According to reports from European media, European Commission president von der Leyen has told lawmakers that the emerging deal is likely to exclude agriculture, a sector that remains highly sensitive for both sides.The strategic impetus for a rapid conclusion of the FTA was reinforced during German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s visit to India earlier this week, when he told reporters that the sticking points had seen progress, but was still under discussion. “There are three points that still need to be negotiated to the end One is this so-called CBAM-System, that is the border adjustment for the CO2-Reduction. The second is steel policy, and the third is the quotas for the motor industry…I have the impression that there is now real progress … but this still has to be finally negotiated between the EU and India,” he said.