India and EU: A new strategic era dawns

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has just completed an extensive European tour, visiting the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway – including the India-Nordic Summit – and Italy. The day after his return, the President of Cyprus arrived in Delhi. While media coverage was somewhat overshadowed by an awkward exchange between the Indian delegation and a Norwegian journalist in Oslo (an incident from which the Norwegian Prime Minister later distanced himself), the visit itself yielded a substantial number of important agreements. Any reputational discomfort in Northern Europe was quickly eclipsed by the warm and characteristically effusive welcome Modi received in Rome from Giorgia Meloni – a dynamic now familiar whenever these two leaders meet.

Beyond the optics, the substance was considerable. In Gothenburg, Modi held talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who declared that a „new era” in EU-India relations is dawning and described the FTA as merely the first step. „The next step must be to deliver an investment agreement,” she stated. India elevated its ties to a Strategic Partnership with the Netherlands, a Green Strategic Partnership with Norway, a Strategic Partnership with Sweden, and a similar upgrade with Cyprus. With Italy, the two countries signed a Special Strategic Partnership – a rare designation India reserves for only a select group of nations. Defence and cybersecurity also featured prominently, with several agreements signed in these critical domains.

Yet the economic agenda proved the most consequential. The undoubted highlight came on 16 May, when Europe’s semiconductor giant, Dutch firm ASML, signed a landmark $11 billion contract with Tata Electronics to establish a semiconductor fabrication plant in Dholera, Gujarat – Modi’s home state. The ambition is striking: the facility is slated for completion by the end of this year.

Modi’s European tour sends a clear signal that relations between the European continent and India are entering a qualitatively new phase. The current geopolitical environment is compelling both sides to seek deeper alignment across multiple domains and to actively explore new platforms for cooperation. Strategic partnerships and strategic agreements are proliferating. In the coming months, attention will turn to the ratification of the EU-India FTA and the negotiation of a comprehensive investment agreement.

This is not merely a diplomatic charm offensive – it is the architecture of a serious, long-term strategic convergence.