(BRUSSELS) - The European parliament on Wednesday called for the EU negotiate a free trade deal with India by the end of the year, though several voiced concerns over human rights abuses, in particular against Christians.

The EU lawmakers voted 392-44 in favor of the motion ahead of an EU-India summit in Marseille, southern France on Monday.

They also called for Delhi to scrap the death penalty and for more EU-India intelligence cooperation in order to better tackle terrorism.

Attacks on Christians and Christian buildings in India was a recurring theme of the parliamentary debate in Brussels.

"It is high time for the government in New Delhi to hear some bitter words about the violation of freedom of religion in that country," said Polish MP Konrad Szymanski, summing up the mood for some in the chamber.

According to the Indian Council of Christians, there is "an act of aggression and intolerance" every three days against Christians, he said.

"People die, churches are demolished and justice is extremely passive on that. We cannot agree to a law that prohibits Christianity in some parts of India. We are awaiting steps to be taken," the MEP added, saying the EU-India summit must tackle the issue.

"We are extremely vigilant," French European Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet assured the Brussels chamber.

Even though Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a "courageous intervention" by calling such incidents a national disgrace, "we are seriously concerned by the violence against different faiths and notably the Christian community" he stressed.

EU Commission vice-president Margot Wallstrom underlined that the violence against Christians had already been raised in February during regular EU-India talks on human rights.

Hindu-Christian violence occurs periodically in India, where 2.3 percent of the country's population of more than 1.1 billion are Christians.

Hardline Hindus accuse missionaries of bribing poor tribal and low-caste Hindus to convert to Christianity by offering free education and health care.

Suspected Hindu radicals in India ransacked three churches near the city of Bangalore on Sunday despite a crackdown after anti-Christian attacks in the region.

Almost two dozen churches in the southern region of Karnataka have been attacked, following similar clashes in the eastern state of Orissa which left nearly 20 dead.

The Orissa violence, triggered by the murder of a Hindu priest and four followers, forced thousands of people, mostly Christians, to flee their homes. Many are still living in state-run camps.

At the EU-India summit agreements in the economic and climate change sectors will be signed. On the latter issue the EU considers India's efforts to be insufficient.

The European Union is India's largest trading partner, with bilateral trade crossing 55.6 billion euros last year.

They have had a strategic partnership agreement since 2004 and are now working on a free-trade deal.

Negotiations on a free trade agreement began last year with Delhi, but progress has been slow. Lawmakers called for a "comprehensive, wide-ranging and ambitious" deal.

Europe wants to boost ties with the emerging giant, seen as a relative haven of stability in the often unstable region which includes Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Text and Picture Copyright 2008 AFP. All other Copyright 2008 EUbusiness Ltd. All rights reserved. This material is intended solely for personal use. Any other reproduction, publication or redistribution of this material without the written agreement of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden and any breach of copyright will be considered actionable.