EU's new strategic agenda sees key role for India in new world order

New Delhi, Sep 23 (IANS) The New Strategic EU-India Agenda, launched by the EU on September 17, with greater priorities in trade, investment, technology and defence, comes against the backdrop of the dramatic geopolitical changes that have taken place in the world order with Donald Trump taking over as US President this year.

The new Strategic Agenda portrays a recognition of today’s altered reality and thus, it attempts to concentrate on three core imperatives, namely, technological sovereignty, economic diversification, and Indo-Pacific engagement, where each responds to the lessons of the past and the demands of the present times, according to an article in India Narrative.

First, the Agenda explicitly puts emphasis on technological sovereignty, a notion that has risen to the forefront of the EU’s strategic thinking. It identifies specific areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and defence technology as domains where the EU and India must work together, the article points out.

The submarine deal under Project 75(I) already demonstrates what this can look like in practice, as not a one-way arms transaction but a partnership based on technology transfer, coproduction, and capacity building. Germany, a major EU member-state, and its willingness to embed itself in India’s naval modernisation, reflects a broader EU-level thinking that partnering with India strengthens the bloc’s quest for technology independence, rather than undermining it. For New Delhi, it is equally significant as it shifts the country from being a consumer of Western technology to a co-creator. This, furthermore, enables India to consolidate its own rise as a global innovation hub, the article observes.

Second, economic diversification as a core aspect remains prominent in the New Strategic Agenda. The pandemic and geopolitical shocks have made the EU realise a painful lesson about over-reliance on narrow supply chains. The new strategy acknowledges that India’s scale, depth, and growing manufacturing capacity make it an indispensable partner for the EU’s economic resilience, the article states.

Furthermore, the commitment to fast-track negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and investment protection shows that the EU-India partnership is prepared to move beyond consultations, towards binding economic frameworks. For the Indian industry, it provides an opportunity to anchor itself more firmly into European value chains. India offers not just low-cost alternatives, but high-quality, rule-based partnerships across sectors from green hydrogen to pharmaceuticals.

Third, and perhaps the most consequential dimension, is the Indo-Pacific engagement. When the EU and India endorsed the Roadmap to 2025, maritime security and ‘freedom, openness and an inclusive approach in the maritime domain’ were already mentioned. But they were framed as one agenda item among many others. In today’s volatile environment, with regional tensions mounting, the Indo-Pacific has moved to the centre of the strategic conversation between Brussels and New Delhi, according to the article.

The New Agenda lays the foundation for an EU-India Security and Defence Partnership that covers maritime security, cyber defence, counterterrorism, and industrial cooperation in defence production. Furthermore, the EU’s support for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and its Global Gateway Initiative establishes a link between economic connectivity and geostrategic balance. By signalling its readiness to collaborate with India on regional security, the EU positions itself as a consequential actor in the Indo-Pacific, while India secures valuable partners in shaping the future of the regional order.

In the context of the EU-India strategic partnership, the record of the past years shows that institutional enthusiasm often collides with bureaucratic inertia. Visa and mobility barriers, export-control regulations, and differences over foreign policy choices could slow the current momentum. The ambitious deadline for concluding the FTA by the end of 2025 will test the political will on both sides, the article observes.

Yet the difference today is that the stakes are higher and the priorities sharper for Brussels and New Delhi. Thus, the real test will not be the signing ceremonies in Brussels or New Delhi, but whether the agenda translates into tangible outcomes, the article adds.

--IANS

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