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EU looks to summit with India to finalise FTA, deepen security cooperation
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa are expected to be chief guests at Republic Day celebrations
New Delhi: The European Union (EU) is looking to an upcoming summit meeting with India In January 2026 as an opportunity to finalise a long-gestating trade deal, strengthen defence and security cooperation and firm up cooperation on a global agenda amid geopolitical churn set off by the trade policies of the US, people familiar with the matter said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa are expected to be chief guests at Republic Day celebrations on January 26, ahead of the India-EU Summit the following day, the people said on condition of anonymity. This is only the second time that India has invited leaders of a grouping – after the Asean in 2018 – to be the chief guests at the celebrations.
While much of the focus has been on hectic negotiations to finalise an India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) by the yearend target set by the leadership of both sides, officials have also engaged in discussions to firm up understandings to broaden defence and security cooperation, including defence industry collaboration to drive the rearming of EU member states and protection of critical infrastructure, and help set the global governance agenda at a time when the US is no longer playing a leading role.
“India and the EU can set the agenda for global governance, along with France, in the absence of the US,” a senior EU official said. “India is one of the big players that we work with and can rely on.”
This cooperation hinges on India heading Brics and France serving as chair of the G7 in 2026. India will also host the AI Impact Summit in February 2026, being seen as crucial for setting the agenda for artificial intelligence, while the US, which has largely focused on internal issues under the Trump administration, will lead the G20 next year.
Such collaboration will also help the world community to navigate what could be a more challenging year in 2027, when China will lead Brics and the UK the G20, the people said.
“The EU and India are well placed to advance shared priorities crucial for the future, including strengthening resilient and diversified supply chains, driving digital innovation, accelerating the green transition, and deepening cooperation on peace, security and defence matters based on the principles of mutual trust and respect,” Costa said.
The India-EU Summit is set to be held a little more than a month after a planned visit to New Delhi by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and EU member states will be keeping a close watch on the upcoming India-Russia Summit in December.
Much of the momentum for India-EU relations in recent years has come from the renewed push to finalise a FTA, negotiations for which were relaunched in 2022 after a hiatus of almost a decade. The uncertainties created by the trade and tariff policies of the Trump administration have added urgency to efforts to finalise the deal. While the people said there has been “huge progress” in recent rounds, they also acknowledged that numerous technical issues were yet to be resolved.
The two sides have now shifted from rounds of negotiations to continuous engagement in both New Delhi and Brussels to close the remaining eight chapters of the trade deal, with EU trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič set to visit the Indian capital early in December to give a push to the discussions, the people said. “The global environment is more volatile and hostile, and India and the EU desire to create predictability and integrate supply chains,” one of the people said.
The people said the two sides are on the verge of finalising provisions related to agricultural market access and alcoholic beverages and had advanced on rules of origin, but acknowledged that steel, cars and the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, a tariff on carbon-intensive products such as steel and cement, remained the main sticking points.
Given the pressure to finalise the FTA ahead of the India-EU Summit, the people said it could be perceived as a “living document”, on which work could be continued to resolve any issues that remain outstanding.
India is the EU’s 9th largest trading partner, accounting for 2.2% of the bloc’s trade in goods in 2023. The EU is India’s largest trading partner, accounting for trade in goods worth €124 billion in 2023. Two-way trade in services was valued at €59.7 billion in 2023.
With the US under President Donald Trump signalling it will reduce its role in the security of Europe, the EU has been firming up multiple security partnerships with key global actors such as South Korea, Japan and India. A Security and Defence Partnership and a security of information agreement are expected to be finalised at the India-EU Summit to drive defence industry collaboration, maritime security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, tackling of hybrid and cyber threats, and security of undersea critical infrastructure such as data cables, the people said.
