The resignation of the 20 commissioners of the European Commission (EC) was followed by the fall of the Atal Behari Vajpayee government. The formation of the new commission is unlikely to happen in the next three months while the Indian elections are due for September. A senior EC official confesses: "With nobody at the helm right now, a lot of valuable time is simply being lost. There are a number of important and urgent issues to be discussed and sorted out between India and the European Union, but nothing is moving forward and nothing is likely to move forward in a hurry either."

Elections to the European Parliament take place next Sunday. The Parliament will meet in July for its first plenary where the president of the new Commission, Italy's Romano Prodi, will submit the list of his team members or the 19other commissioners. The Parliament will then send out detailed questionnaires to each of the incumbents, giving them time till mid-August to respond. The next stage will see the Parliament hold hearings for each of the commissioners, vote on each and, eventually, vote on the entire team. EC officials say the entire process could take up to mid or even end-September.

The constitution of the Lok Sabha and the formation of a new government are expected to be completed at about the same time. It is only then that substantive issues of strengthening bilateral ties and sorting out a number of outstanding issues can be tackled. Among the pending issues is the implementation of the Andre Ann Leonard report that the European Parliament had adopted unanimously in March this year. The report is the first detailed account of bilateral relations that the Parliament has undertaken and it calls for a number of steps to upgrade the relations.

One highlight of the report is the suggestion to hold an annualsummit meeting between India and the EU, on the lines that the unioun holds with other major countries like Japan, China, the US and Canada. The upgrading of bilateral ties through this summit would not only signal the importance of the relations but also enable the two sides to sort out a number of important issues that can only be solved at the highest levels.

Another crucial recommendation is to bring together the consular functions of the 15 member states. This would mean that the consular sections of the EU member states would be housed in the same building and also smoothen the process of issuing visas. This will also lead to greater coordination between the missions of the member states. India has often complained about the difficulties for its citizens who wish to apply for EU visas and this recommendation will go a long way in addressing that issue.

The Parliament had also recommended drawing up a charter for the EU companies to follow. This charter willregulate the companies on their policies in third countries, including India. This charter will cover issues like child labour, minimum wages and environmental and safety standards. Though the charter will be voluntary, meaning companies can choose whether or not to sign up, but those that do join will be closely monitored and those that do not join will be under tremendous moral pressure to sign up.

EC officials say these issues are of grave importance and some, like the consular policies and the code of conduct, will apply to all countries, not just India Hence they need to be ratified at the highest levels.