ABSTRACT
Since 2007, the European Union (EU) and India have been involved in negotiations over a free trade agreement. One of the challenging issues concerns the inclusion of labour standards provisions in the agreement. The costs and benefits of possible agreement between the EU and India should be considered in two different ways. The first is from the perspective of what an agreement as such would bring two parties. Second, a prospective free trade agreement (FTA) should be viewed in light of what inclusion of labour standards itself entails for both parties. Bilateral agreements such as FTAs are not only a good indicator of a shared sense of appropriateness amongst the members of international community, but also of a careful calculation of costs and benefits of joining. In terms of logic of constraints, the negotiating mandate and the procedural role of the European Parliament make it difficult to accept an FTA that does not contain any reference to core labour standards.
