India-Europe partnership needs constant nurturing

India must not allow the negotiation process to lose momentum

- SHYAM SARAN

A recent visit to Brussels, at the heart of the European Union (EU), brought home to one, how much needs to be done in order to deliver on the promise of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the pursuit of a closer economic and technological partnership in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).

What remains intact and compelling is the geopolitical driver of the partnership. Both India and Europe feel threatened by the prospect of a US-China duopoly. In Europe, there is fear of abandonment. In India, there is apprehension that the strategic glue that has held the country and the US in a 25-year partnership is now coming unstuck. But while New Delhi takes sovereign decisions on how best to respond, Europe is still not a coherent political entity and it is apparent that there are significant differences in each major member country’s approach. While there is a shared perception of an abiding Russian security threat and the need to build up European defences, it is not clear whether the EU will have a role to play in this as long as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization remains the only credible deterrent against Moscow and this is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. On re-engaging diplomatically with Russia, again there is no consensus on who should represent Europe in the dialogue and what would be the agenda for the talks. On bringing peace in the Iran War, Europe has been a marginal player. This is a major contrast from the negotiation on the Joint Programme of Action in 2015, where European participation was active and consequential.