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Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, speaks to reporters before 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 Wednesday, as Brussels and New Delhi seek closer commercial and political ties.
Kaja Kallas made the announcement to the European Parliament in Strasbourg ahead of an EU-India summit in Delhi next week where the deal could be concluded.
“Today we agreed to go ahead 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 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, cyber security and counter-terrorism.
The EU recently signed similar deals with Canada and Britain in a push to bring defense industries closer together as the allies grapple with an aggressive Russia and concerns about US reliability under President Donald Trump.
New Delhi, which for decades has depended on Moscow for key military hardware, has sought to reduce its reliance on Russia in recent years by diversifying imports and pushing its own domestic manufacturing base.
With both hit by US tariffs, India and the 27-nation EU are also working on a free trade agreement.
