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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 with 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 to strengthen trade and political ties.
Kaja Kallas made the announcement at the European Parliament in Strasbourg ahead of the 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 together at a time when the rules-based international order is under unprecedented pressure due to wars, coercion and economic fragmentation,” Kallas said.
“Two great democracies cannot afford to hesitate. We must become more ambitious partners.”
Kallas said the defense deal would deepen cooperation in areas such as maritime security, cybersecurity and counter-terrorism.
The EU recently signed similar deals with Canada and Britain in a bid to bring defense industries closer together, as the allies face an aggressive Russia and worry 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 tried to reduce its dependence on Russia in recent years by diversifying its imports and developing its own domestic industrial base.
India and the 27-nation EU, both hit by U.S. tariffs, are also working on a free trade deal.
