Editorial 2 : Old continent rising
Context
Trump-era volatility has drawn India and Europe closer.
Delhi and Europe ties
- Delhi’s new focus on Europe acknowledges the old continent’s emerging role as a potential swing state in the shifting dynamic among major powers — the US, Russia, and China.
- Equally significant are the new possibilities for deeper India-Europe strategic cooperation.
- Jaishankar’s visit aims to accelerate strategic dialogue with the EU while reinforcing the longstanding partnership with France and strengthening ties with Belgium.
- PM’s G7 summit attendance goes beyond resetting troubled bilateral ties with Canada — it offers a chance to recalibrate relations with a Western world experiencing a rare upheaval.
G7 Summit and the dynamics change
- The G7 has long been the voice of the collective West, establishing norms for global economic governance, security, and political values.
- This elite club of industrial democracies — the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Japan — has arguably been far more consequential than the UNSC. The 2025 summit convenes amid deepening divisions within the G7.
- Since the last summit hosted by Canada in 2018, when his European colleagues confronted a defiant Donald Trump, these divisions have intensified.
- India needs to put Trump’s equivocation in its recent conflict with Pakistan in perspective.
- Trump dismisses NATO — which America established in 1949 after spending much blood and treasure in the World Wars — and shows little regard for the Five Eyes, the historically close-knit Anglo-American alliance that predates NATO.
- Trump’s return to the White House has thrown the G7 into disarray. While the US remains central to the group, its leadership of the West has come under a cloud.
- Trump’s reluctance to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty and eagerness to deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin have alarmed European allies — particularly Germany, France, and the UK — creating a fundamental rift within the G7.
- Prime Minister Mark Carney’s invitation to Modi is part of a new effort to diversify Canada’s international relations. So is his courtship of Europe.
- Even as they take greater responsibility for European security, Britain, France, Germany, and Poland seek an expanded presence in Asia and the Indo-Pacific.
- Japan, the G7’s sole Asian member, has long advocated for European engagement in Asian security amid China’s assertiveness.
- Despite its ambivalence toward China, Europe is spreading its bets with deeper ties to ASEAN, Australia, India, Japan, and South Korea.
Benefits for India
- The India-Europe relationship has begun to move from the margins to the centre of major-power relations for both Delhi and Brussels.
- Europe’s push for strategic autonomy aligns with India’s worldview. The once-improbable India-Europe Free Trade Agreement now looks within reach.
- The proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor aims to reshape Eurasian connectivity and secure alternative supply chains amid the US-China rivalry.
- The EU-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC), established in 2023, advances cooperation in AI, quantum computing, outer space, and green technologies.
- Europe’s ReArm Plan (2025), targeting €800 billion for defence modernisation by 2030, creates opportunities for security collaboration with India. India’s participation in EU defence mechanisms marks a shift from transactional arms deals to co-development.
Conclusion
For Europe, India has become an important part of its economic and military diversification strategy. For Delhi, Europe offers a much-needed depth to India’s great-power relations. Together, they can enhance the prospects for a multipolar global order amid increasing signs of a bipolar domination by the US and China.