The European Commission on 17 September outlined plans to intensify cooperation with India across defence, technology and trade, even as Brussels weighs how to address New Delhi’s closer engagement with Moscow since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The move is framed in a Commission document setting out a strategic vision for the relationship.
Talks on an EU–India free trade agreement (FTA), relaunched in 2022, are in their late stages. Both sides are working to close the remaining gaps with the stated aim of concluding the deal by the end of 2025. Negotiators have accelerated efforts in recent months, with the twelfth round held in Brussels in July focusing on market access for goods and services alongside rules of origin and standards chapters.
The push for a deal comes amid a wider recalibration of trade policy on both sides of the Atlantic following U.S. President Donald Trump’s re-election and tariff measures affecting a range of partners. For Brussels, India sits alongside Mexico, Mercosur and Indonesia on a priority list of pending agreements. For New Delhi, the EU offers market access and technology cooperation, while India continues to engage China and Russia where it sees national interest.
Washington has urged G7 and EU governments to consider tariffs on China and India over purchases of Russian oil, arguing such measures would tighten pressure on Moscow. The call, advanced by U.S. officials last week, highlights a potential external complication for the EU–India track if transatlantic positions harden.
India has substantially increased imports of discounted Russian crude since 2022. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent public engagement with President Vladimir Putin at a summit in China and Indian participation in a Russian-led military exercise have also drawn scrutiny in European capitals. The Commission says it will use engagement with India to address sanctions circumvention risks and to curtail flows that could sustain Russia’s military capacity.
Despite these tensions, the Commission characterises India as a partner that supports a rules-based multilateral order. Brussels also notes forecasts that India will become the world’s third-largest economy by 2030, a trajectory that underpins the EU’s interest in a more comprehensive agenda spanning trade, investment and security.
Beyond the FTA, the EU envisages parallel agreements on investment protection and air transport. Proposed sectoral cooperation includes securing critical supply chains, joint work on green hydrogen, and support for decarbonising heavy industry. The research and innovation pillar would cover industrial technologies and standards, building on the existing Trade and Technology Council format.
On security, Brussels signals openness to a defence and security partnership with India modelled on EU arrangements with Japan and South Korea. Such a framework could facilitate dialogues on maritime security, defence industrial cooperation and resilience against cyber and hybrid threats, and could extend to coordinated projects in third countries, particularly in Africa and South Asia.
Progress on the FTA remains the central test. Negotiators have worked to bridge differences on agriculture and dairy access, technical barriers to trade and services commitments. The EU is India’s largest trading partner in goods, with bilateral trade expanding markedly over the past decade, and both sides have signalled that an “economically meaningful” market-access package is required to unlock a final text.
In parallel, the Commission’s Russia policy continues to evolve, including proposals to accelerate the phase-out of Russian fossil fuel imports and to tighten enforcement of sanctions. Any EU–India arrangements will therefore be scrutinised against the Union’s sanctions architecture, with a premium on transparency over energy and dual-use trade flows. How Brussels and New Delhi manage these constraints—without derailing a wider strategic agenda—will shape the outcome of both the FTA and the broader partnership pathway flagged by the Commission this week.
Trump says Europe “talks, not acts” on Russia sanctions, urges halt to energy purchases
