India-EU declaration includes fusion energy research, nuclear safety, SME cooperation

Who it concerns: The agreement involves the Government of India and the European Union. It affects energy regulators, nuclear safety organisations, business representatives (specifically SMEs), research institutes, academia, transmission and distribution system operators, and business operators in the energy sector.

What was agreed

• Focus areas include clean coal technologies, advanced coal mining, energy efficiency in products and buildings, smart power grids, renewable energy uptake, nuclear and off-shore drilling safety, and fusion energy research.
• Joint activities such as technical meetings, vocational training, and business-to-business cooperation (with a focus on SMEs) are to be set up regularly throughout 2012 and onwards.
• Progress on implementation is to be reported to the 2012 India-EU Energy Panel meeting.
• Both sides will explore support from EU-funded programmes and other India/EU schemes to promote cooperation.

Also in the document

• The declaration explicitly includes cooperation on fusion energy research, referencing the bilateral work programme supporting ITER.
• Specific attention is given to nuclear safety and off-shore drilling safety.
• Business-to-business cooperation is to be promoted with a specific focus on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).