Albeit not seeing eye to eye on a number of normative principles, India regards the European Union (EU) as a strategic partner with whom it can confront global infrastructure and technology challenges that potentially threaten its sovereignty and security—primarily China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), states a new report.
The research, released by Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, observes that India has been moving steadily closer to the EU's Global Gateway Strategy (GGS)—an values-based project aimed at encouraging open, sustainable, and high-standard infrastructure projects around the world.
Both the EU–India Connectivity Partnership and the GGS were initiated in 2021 and set the stage for an increasingly institutionalized and strategically coordinated relationship between the EU and India.
The EU's GGS, with a budgeted EUR 300 billion over 2027, is designed to deliver "smart, clean, and secure" infrastructure that is based on EU's rules-based order. It focuses on democratic governance, environmental and social protection, and balanced partnerships. India, by extension, is ever more regarded in Brussels as a natural partner compared to China, which, despite its economic power, is considered a strategic competitor.
Yet another strengthening of connections, India and the EU set up the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in February 2023, the second such bilateral platform for the EU after its agreement with the United States. This council allows for cooperation on key issues like digital technologies, energy security, and supply chains. It also facilitates cooperation between India's online platforms—such as Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and open-data platforms—and EU-funded initiatives in Asia and Africa, fitting into India's larger missions of engaging with developing countries.
Given the increasing economic tensions between the EU and China, the report presents that continued India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations and proposals to draw lessons from the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) as an example of connectivity are being viewed in New Delhi as evidence of the EU's commitment to enhancing its strategic partnership with India.
EU leaders have consistently recognized India's importance in the Indo-Pacific and as the leader among the developing world. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has described India as a "leading voice of the Global South" and a "bridge" between the two blocs. In June, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela reiterated the GGS commitment by taking a joint commitment to invest in green infrastructure that leads to job creation, connectivity of communities, and international resilience.
Though the EU continues to engage diplomatically with China—marked by the recent Beijing 50th-anniversary summit—sustained suspicions regarding trade and security remain. The EU has pursued a policy of "de-risking, not decoupling", which means it seeks to diminish excessive reliance on Chinese supply chains while still cooperating on climate action, energy, technology, and regulation.
Since its launch, the GGS has been perceived as a values-based alternative to China's BRI, which has been widely criticized for hidden contracts, debt entrapment, and the dominance of Chinese state-owned companies. The GGS, in contrast, encourages open tendering and high environmental standards. While the EU formally promotes the strategy as a means of responding to global development requirements, a leaked draft internal strategy document quoted in the report shows it is also seen as being part of a geopolitical "battle of offers" with China.
In the end, the report asserts that the EU sees India as a key actor in designing resilient and rule-based connectivity frameworks, where common interests for pushback against authoritarian models of global development exist. As China remains referred to as a systemic competitor in EU jargon, India's positioning as a reliable democratic ally and a rising Global South power continues to intensify.
