The case of two Italian
marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen during an
anti-piracy mission in 2012 will be among the issues addressed
at Wednesday's EU-India summit in Brussels, ANSA sources said
Tuesday.
The meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission
President Jean Claude Juncker will also discuss the case of six
British security guards and 14 Estonian nationals who have been
handed jail terms by India for illegal possession of arms on a
ship.
The case of the two Italian marines has strained
diplomatic relations between Rome and New Delhi.
The Italian government has taken the case to international
arbitration at a United Nations court in The Hague after
repeated delays in the handling of the case in India.
However, the ruling from the arbitration is not due
before August 2018.
The marines case will be among the issues mentioned in the
conclusions of the summit, EU sources said.
The sources said the marines issue was "the most difficult
to prepare" in the run-up to the summit, adding that the EU
"shares Italy's concerns".
They also said that Modi's government is "aware that this
issue weighs on the development of relations with the EU".
At the summit, the Indian government and the European
Investment Bank (EIB) are set to sign an agreement for a 450
million euros loan for the construction of the Lucknow metro.
One of the marines, Massimiliano Latorre, was allowed to
return to Italy after having a stroke in 2014.
The other marine, Salvatore Girone, is not permitted to
leave India.
Rome argues the case is not in India's jurisdiction as the
incident took place outside the country's territorial waters.
It also says the marines should be exempt from prosecution
in India, because they are servicemen who were working on an
anti-piracy mission.
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