Can EU and India work together to secure Indo-Pacific? — SkimNews
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- India and the European Union signed a Security and Defense Partnership in January 2026, held their first formal Security and Defense Dialogue in March and convened a fifth Maritime Security Dialogue in Brussels in September.
- France maintains a military presence on Reunion Island and Mayotte and already cooperates with India in the Indian Ocean; Indian diplomat Javed Ashraf cited France's lack of defense cooperation with Pakistan or China as an easing factor.
- European Union leaders at the October 15–16 summit reaffirmed support for Ukraine while showing disagreements over funding and national priorities, leaving maritime awareness, information-sharing, defense technology and selective industrial cooperation as the more realistic scope than a joint Indo-Pacific role.
- Germany, Spain, Italy and Poland have emerged as important Indian defense partners, while India is becoming an important source of defense supplies for a re-arming Europe.
- Javed Ashraf said Brussels could signal broader support for member states' partnerships with India and provide access to EU-funded programs in maritime security, space, critical minerals, chips and defense technology.
- Russia remains Europe's principal security concern, while India relies heavily on Russian equipment and technology; that reliance complicates Indian integration into Europe's expanding defense value chain, and the war in Ukraine diverts European attention.
- China is a rival and source of major security issues for India, including an ongoing border dispute, and a systemic rival for the EU; members' differing economic ties complicate a shared Indo-Pacific threat assessment.
Why it matters: India’s value to Europe is reciprocal, not one-sided: while European countries offer defense partnerships, India is becoming an important defense supplier for a re-arming Europe. The fifth maritime dialogue and January partnership provide concrete channels, but Russia’s role in Indian equipment and Europe’s focus on Ukraine constrain deeper integration.
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