The EU-India partnership. Time to go strategic?

How can India and the EU expand their relationship from its current economic dimension to a broader, security-based dimension? Why is this not happening in spite of expressed willingness and the clear reciprocal benefits that would ensue? Is there a lack of frank dialogue on sensitive areas, or is there a more general lack of mutual understanding?

The various Indian and European contributors to this volume – the result of long-standing collaboration between the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) and the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) – assess incipient progress and explore ways to advance India-EU relations in the bilateral and multilateral dimensions of the Strategic Partnership.

Although it was launched in 2004, a consensus emerges that such a partnership cannot be called strategic as yet. Continuing discussion and analysis of pressing issues is thus necessary in order to facilitate a breakthrough. This book contains detailed proposals for widening the scope of cooperation to both traditional and non-traditional security issues, such as counter-terrorism, security sector reform in third countries and energy. It also explores the potential for India and the EU to reach consensus in international governance forums, with particular emphasis on economic governance, as well as prospects for effective inter-regional cooperation on the main global security issues, such as peacekeeping and maritime security.

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