October 23, 2025

Hold on, traders and diplomats! The EU Council just gave a thumbs-up to a fiery new strategic agenda with India, lighting the way for stronger bonds across many fields. This plan covers everything from sustainability and technology to security, defence, and better connectivity. The exciting part? It’s all set to be adopted officially after talks at the EU-India summit early next year. For businesses craving new opportunities, there’s a clear push to remove trade barriers and open new market doors. The Council praised efforts to reach a “balanced, ambitious, mutually beneficial and economically meaningful” free trade deal. And guess what? Both sides want to seal it by the end of this year — fingers crossed! But it’s not just trade on the menu. The Council also highlighted plans for a Security and Defence Partnership, which could spark defence industrial cooperation in the future. On the global stage, the EU promised to stay engaged with India on key issues, especially regarding Russia’s war against Ukraine. The Council stressed how important it is for both to protect multilateralism and respect the United Nations Charter — the backbone of rules-based world order — along with a strong World Trade Organization. This fresh strategic agenda truly spices up the EU-India relationship and sets a strong stage for teamwork on challenges and opportunities ahead.

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Tags: Eu-india relations, Strategic agenda, Free trade agreement, Security and defence, Multilateralism, Trade barriers,