A road map for India-EU ties

Source: The post is based on the article “A road map for India-EU ties” published in The Hindu on 16^th August 2022.

Syllabus: GS 2 – Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Relevance: About India-EU ties.

News: Along with the 75 years of Independence, India also celebrates 60 years of diplomatic relations with the European Union (EU).

What are the recent developments in India-EU ties?

a) A cooperation agreement signed in 1994 took the bilateral relationship beyond trade and economic cooperation, b) The first India-EU Summit in 2000, marked a watershed in the evolution of the relationship. At the fifth India-EU Summit in 2004, the relationship was upgraded to a ‘Strategic Partnership’, c) The two sides adopted a Joint Action Plan in 2005 towards strengthening dialogue and consultation mechanisms in the political and economic spheres, enhancing trade and investment, and bringing peoples and cultures together,

d) The 15th India-EU Summit, 2020, provided a common road map to guide joint action and strengthen the partnership over the next five years.

The map highlights engagement across five domains: foreign policy and security cooperation; trade and economy; sustainable modernisation partnership; global governance; and people-to-people relations.

What is the present state of India-EU ties?

Economic partnership: Bilateral trade between the two surpassed $116 billion in 2021-22. The EU is India’s second largest trading partner after the U.S., and the second largest destination for Indian exports.

There are 6,000 European companies in the country that directly and indirectly create 6.7 million jobs.

Avenues of collaboration: 1) The ‘green strategic partnership’ between India and Denmark aims to address climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, 2) The India-Nordic Summit focused on green technologies and industry transformation that are vital for sustainable and inclusive growth.

Cooperation in the defence sector: India and the EU regularly conduct joint military and naval exercises which reflects their commitment to a free, open, inclusive and rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific.

-The first maritime security dialogue in 2021 focused on cooperation in maritime domain awareness, capacity-building, and joint naval activities.

-France’s on-time delivery of 36 Rafale fighter jets and willingness to offer Barracuda nuclear attack submarines to the Indian Navy reflects the growing level of trust.

Science and technology:

–Science and Technology Joint Steering Committee: It focus on areas such as healthcare, Artificial Intelligence, and earth sciences.

-In 2020, there was an agreement for research and development cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy between the European Atomic Energy Community and the Government of India.

What are the challenges faced in India-EU ties?

India and the EU have differing opinions and divergent interests in some areas. For instance, a) India’s reluctance to condemn Russia for the Ukraine crisis is not agreed upon by the EU, b) There is an ambiguity on the EU’s strategy in tackling the rise of China. This is visible from Europe not criticising China’s attack on Galwan Valley.

What should be done to improve India-EU ties?

India’s economic, political and demographic weight could be deftly leveraged by the EU to counterbalance China’s influence across the region. For that, the resumption of the ambitious India-EU free trade and investment agreement in 2021 is a step in the right direction.