Increased Indian trade and migration will help the European Union “de-risk” from China and the United States, the bloc’s Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has claimed.
Speaking at a summit in Sweden attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, von der Leyen lauded a forthcoming free trade agreement between the EU and the South Asian nation, arguing it would help insulate both from geopolitical adversaries.
She added that ahead of the agreement coming into force, the two blocs must now work on creating an investment union.
“This is the missing piece of the puzzle in our reinforced economic cooperation, especially in a world where supply chains are being reshaped, and economic security challenges us as never before,” she said.
“Deepening our investment ties will help us to de-risk and diversify.”
“Basically, one can say that the trade agreement opened the door. An investment agreement walks us through it,” she added.
Von der Leyen reiterated that the two had signed the “mother of all [trade] deals” earlier in the year that would see tighter cooperation on digital regulation and military defence capabilities.
“We will also work together in countering cyberthreats, protecting our critical infrastructure, and by generally increasing our information-sharing,” von der Leyen said.
“Our cooperation can help bring stability to an unstable world and provide security to our citizens.”
While the trade agreement has yet to come into full force, both India and the EU have confirmed it will also include provisions increasing European visa access for Indians.
“On mobility, the India-EU FTA provides a facilitative and predictable framework for business mobility covering short-term, temporary and business travel in both directions,” an Indian government press release on the agreement earlier this year reads.
“Additionally, India has also secured access for practitioners of Indian Traditional Medicine to work under home title in EU Member States where traditional medical practices are not regulated.”
The push for tighter relations with India comes as Europe increasingly alienates itself from more powerful players on the world stage, with Brussels antagonising both the United States and China via recent regulatory crusades.
Attempts by Eurocrats to enforce EU-style speech controls on US citizens have angered Washington DC.
While Beijing is overall more tolerant of such censorship, recent accusations from Brussels that they are “dumping” high-end manufactured goods into the bloc’s single market have offended the Communist state.
By contrast, India shares a number of key viewpoints with the EU, including that digital speech must be heavily curtailed to promote government-approved viewpoints.
The two powers are not aligned on all issues. New Delhi’s position on the war in Ukraine could prove problematic, with India continuing to buy large amounts of Russian oil despite European demands for an international sanction regime against Moscow.