The immediate premise for closer ties is the spate of recurring crises we see today.
INTRODUCTION
Today, it is becoming an almost cliched observation when one talks of the inevitability of India’s imminent arrival at the centre of global notability. However, there are a few powers that do not act quite commensurately with regards to India, at least until now. And one of them happens to be the European Union (EU). India sits astride very pivotal locations on the world map. From being strategically located in South Asia to being in the immediate vicinity of the Indo-Pacific region, India’s geographical location today is in near alignment with her geopolitical, economic and growing military clout, therefore making her an indispensable and inescapable power, for either those wishing to induce an element of equilibrium in the increasingly turbulent current global order, or those wishing to further aggravate ongoing issues, conflicts, either overtly or via more subtle means of diplomacy.
And as a “normative” actor that ostensibly seeks to establish and sustain a norms and rules-based world order, it is about time that the EU starts sincerely realizing the inevitability of India and find common ground with it. And recent developments do paint a practicable and doable scenario.
COMPARABLE COMPLICATION
The immediate and as well as the overarching premise for closer ties, is the spate of recurring crises we see today. EU and many of its member states are smelling the proverbial “coffee” today in so far realizing the consequences of such crises are concerned. They cannot majorly depend on third parties either for their energy needs, nor can they depend on others for things like semiconductor and rare earth materials or even basic military equipment, from their traditional allies as the current century with its rapid pace of technological advancement, societal changes, demographic alterations among other factors, are leading many countries to re-evaluate as to what constitutes “national” interest in a rapidly changing world.
From increasing bellicosity we see from major powers like China and Russia to the policy level discrepancies and characteristic machinations of the United States—a country that enjoys the comfort of a relatively insulated geographical location unlike India and EU—India and EU working out their strategic interests and manoeuvring this precarious phase of global uncertainties, is a reminder not just of their similar backgrounds and conundrums but also of the need or rather obligation to enhance the profile of their strategic functioning.
STRATEGIC NECESSITY
The serving European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, in her seminal State of the Union speech in February 2022, had made the pursuit of strategic autonomy a core element of her mandate. French President Emmanuel Macron, who will be the chief guest for the 75th Republic Day celebrations in India on 26 January 2024, has been reiterating the need for the EU as a whole to exercise more autonomy in so far as her security concerns and the ensuing strategic responses to them are concerned. The European Council framed strategic autonomy in 2016 as “the ability to act autonomously when and where needed and with partners wherever possible”.
Many commentators of international relations rue the lack of clarity when it comes to precisely defining the term “strategic autonomy”. Part of it stems from the ambiguity of the term. In this regard, it is noteworthy that the three EU member states of France, Italy and Greece enjoy the status of a strategic partnership vis-a-vis their bilateral ties with India. All of this is reflective of a realization of the need for strategic options as being a matter of necessity today and not of choice and ambiguity. This portends well for the future as having strategic partnerships with three member-states shall certainly have a bearing on the larger India-EU ties.
INDIA-EU TIES
India, in recent years and particularly under the Narendra Modi government, has seen shifts in its economic as well as security ties with the EU. The revival of big power rivalries, a global pandemic and an ensuing crisis in Ukraine—and the realizations it has brought to light in terms of security related vulnerabilities and economic and technological dependencies—on countries like the US and China, have clearly shown common challenges and prospects that India and EU share. And both the powers are gradually taking steps to address these concerns, albeit belatedly. The maiden EU-India Security and Defence Exchanges was held in June 2022 in Brussels, signalling a fresh phase in bilateral ties.
Both parties deliberated on various means to improve coordination in the “co-production and co-development of military equipment”. India’s participation in the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), a legal mechanism under the EU’s security and defence policy, was announced in what has come to being a “concrete” and “tangible” step rising above rhetoric and mere symbolism. And talking of concrete and tangible steps, EU and India, in October 2023, conducted their maiden joint naval exercises in the Gulf of Guinea, in a display of effort to build up cooperation in the maritime sphere, a domain that the world has again started reengaging with. This domain is becoming a pre-requisite for maintaining global equilibrium and well as sustained economic growth, along with establishing one’s influence in the realm of geo-politics. In line with these developments, the EU, very recently, appointed a military attaché to its mission in India. The broader trajectory notwithstanding, the requisite institutional edifice for propelling India-EU relations does seem to be gaining fair momentum.
A CAVEAT
The association is, though, still quite below potential. Bilateral trade remains at very modest levels and India’s direct investment of around 2.7 billion euros, is way below desirable levels for the fifth largest economy in the world. For ties to reach an optimum level, the EU needs to effectively communicate to its member states about the added value of being one of the chief proponents for India. India too, on her part, needs to leverage her partnerships with countries like France and the newly added strategic partners like Greece and Italy, to leverage her position within the Union.
CONCLUSION
The current leadership in India and the present leadership in the European Commission and many EU member states need to seize the opportunities that are arising out of today’s dynamic global and regional equations. Policymakers would be well advised to highlight the substance of regular high-level dialogues between the two sides. As the EU Council deductions adopting the EU Strategy for India indicates, future engagements should also encourage business and people-to-people contact to bolster ties comprehensively. If both sides can orient their strategic purposes and respond to emerging scenarios effectively, they will not be the only beneficiaries: with their total population of more than 2 billion, including significant diaspora that resides in other countries around the world, they are well positioned to benefit a larger mass of humanity, in addition to ensuring effective multilateralism and maintaining global strategic balance.
Manish Barma has completed his PhD from the Centre for European Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.