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Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, speaks to journalists ahead of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting in Brussels on July 14, 2025. File photo: AFP
STRASBOURG:
The European Union is ready to sign a defense and security pact with India, the bloc’s top diplomat said on Wednesday, as Brussels and New Delhi seek closer trade and political ties.
Kaja Kallas made the announcement before the European Parliament in Strasbourg ahead of an EU-India summit in Delhi next week, where the deal could be signed.
“Today we agreed to move forward with the signing of a new security and defense partnership between the EU and India,” Kallas told lawmakers.
The move comes as the two geopolitical heavyweights face economic and security challenges from the world’s two largest economies, China and the United States.
“The EU and India are moving closer at a time when the rules-based international order is under unprecedented pressure through wars, coercion and economic fragmentation,” Kallas said.
“Two great democracies cannot afford to hesitate. We must become more ambitious partners.”
Kallas said the defense pact would deepen cooperation in areas including maritime security, cybersecurity and counterterrorism.
The EU recently signed similar agreements with Canada and Britain in an effort to bring defense industries closer together as the allies face an aggressive Russia and concerns about the reliability of the United States under President Donald Trump.
New Delhi, which has depended on Moscow for decades for key military equipment, has sought to reduce its dependence on Russia in recent years by diversifying imports and boosting its own domestic manufacturing base.
With both countries hit by US tariffs, India and the 27-nation EU are also working on a free trade agreement.
