External affairs minister S Jaishankar is understood to have discussed India's decision to enact the Citizenship (Amendment) Act with Members of European Parliament (MEPs) during his one-day visit to Brussels on Monday

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar is understood to have discussed India's decision to enact the Citizenship (Amendment) Act with Members of European Parliament (MEPs) during his one-day visit to Brussels on Monday. It came in the backdrop of MEPs deciding to defer voting on a resolution against the CAA following diplomatic outreach by India.

Jaishankar exchanged views with a group of MEPs representing various member states and political groupings in the new European Parliament. It was his second such interaction with MEPs. His visit came ahead of the next edition of the India-EU summit in Brussels on March 13. It was Jaishankar’s first visit to the EU after the assumption of office of the new European Commission in December 2019.

The minister shared with the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) India’s foreign policy priorities and regional and global perspective, said people aware of the matter. They said the focus of the exchange was common values of the India and European Union, which represent the world’s two largest democracies, and their shared commitment to democracy, multilateralism, rules-based international order, rules-based international trade with World Trade Organisation at its core and sustainable development.

The FAC is constituted by the EU’s high representative and the 27 foreign ministers of its member states. It is responsible for the EU’s external action on foreign policy, defence and security.

Both sides expect to deepen their engagement, particularly on common priorities such as addressing climate change, safeguarding multilateralism, cooperation in defence and connectivity as also in the field of defence security and addressing the menace of terrorism. In this context, the minister met Frans Timmermans, executive vice president for European Green Deal; Phil Hogan, commissioner for trade; and Mme Jutta Urpilainen, commissioner for international partnership.