India, EU to ink new security, defence pact at Jan 27 meet
Aim to conclude negotiations on a long-pending free trade agreement
The European Union and India have agreed to move forward with the signing of a new EU-India security and defence partnership.
This would mark a significant expansion of cooperation in areas such as maritime security, cybersecurity and counter-terrorism, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas said on Wednesday.
Addressing the European Parliament plenary session ahead of the 60th EU-India Summit, scheduled to be held in New Delhi on January 27, Kallas said the proposed partnership reflected a shared recognition that closer security cooperation was essential in an increasingly unstable global environment.
“In a more dangerous world, we will both gain from working more closely together,” she said, adding that negotiations would also be launched on the security of an information agreement aimed at facilitating deeper cooperation in sensitive strategic domains.
Besides, the EU and India aim to conclude negotiations on a long-pending free trade agreement which, Kallas said, would open markets, remove barriers and strengthen critical supply chains in sectors such as clean technologies, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
She also announced plans to conclude a memorandum of understanding on a comprehensive framework for cooperation on mobility, which would facilitate movement for seasonal workers, students, researchers and highly skilled professionals, while promoting research and innovation.
Kallas described the upcoming summit as a “pivotal moment” in the EU–India relations, underpinned by renewed political momentum and a clear sense of purpose, even as preparations have not been without challenges. She said negotiations on the joint statement and a new strategic agenda were progressing well, driven by determination on both sides that the summit must deliver concrete outcomes.
The summit will adopt a new EU–India comprehensive strategic agenda for 2030, setting the course for deeper engagement across trade, security, technology and mobility. According to Kallas, leaders were expected to endorse several key deliverables that move the partnership “from words to action”.
Placing the partnership in a broader geopolitical context, Kallas said Europe and India were moving closer at a time when the rules-based international order was under unprecedented pressure due to wars, coercion and economic fragmentation.
“Two major democracies cannot afford to hesitate,” she said, stressing that both sides share a responsibility to uphold international law, the UN Charter and a multilateral system that works in the 21st century.
Highlighting cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, Kallas said Europe and India could play a stabilising role by defending open sea lanes, strengthening maritime domain awareness and resisting coercion in all its forms.
“The goal is simple but strategic — to embed trusted standards that shape global markets rather than react to them,” she said, adding that the summit mattered for what it would set in motion: a more ambitious and operational EU–India partnership that delivers tangible benefits for citizens, economies and security on both sides.
