Good deal can be lost while chasing best: Portugal foreign minister on India-EU FTA

Portugal has been a big champion of the proposed India-EU FTA since the launch of negotiations and the two entities should focus on getting a 'good deal' instead of focusing their energy on achieving the 'best deal', visiting Portuguese foreign minister Paulo Rangel told ET.

"There is a saying in Portugal that 'best' is the enemy of good. The goal should be working towards a good deal as a good deal can be lost while chasing the best. We should focus on a faster, simpler and pragmatic deal," the minister noted.

Rangel mentioned that Portugal has been the frontrunner in supporting India-EU FTA which has geo-economic and geo-political implications. The minister in this context referred to the EU-MERCOSUR FTA which has opened up huge opportunities between the EU and Latin America.


In this backdrop of India-EU FTA negotiations, Rangel met commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal. Earlier this week, the EU envoy, along with a dozen of envoys from various EU states, met Goyal for a discussion on India-EU FTA ahead of a hectic set of meetings between the two sides in 2025.

Rangel mentioned that geo-political and geo-economics developments globally will be balanced through India-EU FTA.