European Council approves ‘new EU-India strategic agenda’ and efforts to conclude FTA

The European Council approved on Monday October 20, 2025 the conclusions on a “new EU-India strategic agenda” announced earlier by the European Commission, welcoming the “strong impetus” it gives to relations between the European Union and India.

The Belgium-based council, responsible for the overall policy direction and priorities of the 27-member economic bloc, highlighted efforts by both sides to conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the EU by the end of the year.

Its conclusions this week endorse the Joint Communication on the New Agenda and its aim to deepen ties between the EU and India, including prosperity and sustainability, technology and innovation, security and defence, as well as connectivity and global issues.

“The Council particularly welcomes efforts to conclude a balanced, ambitious, mutually beneficial and economically significant free trade agreement, which the European Commission and the Government of India aim to finalize by the end of the year,” the Council said in a statement.

“Such an agreement must include better market access, the removal of trade barriers and provisions on sustainable development,” the text says.

The European Council noted that closer collaboration between the EU and India on security and defense issues, based on the principles of mutual trust and respect, was of particular importance in the context of increasingly complex geopolitical prospects.

“The Council takes note of the intention to continue work towards the establishment of a security and defense partnership, which could also facilitate defense industrial cooperation, where appropriate,” it said.

He said the EU would continue to engage with India on all aspects of “Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.” He also highlighted the joint capacity and responsibility of the EU and India to safeguard multilateralism and the rules-based international order, centered on the United Nations Charter, as well as the multilateral trading system, in particular the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“The promotion and protection of democratic values ​​and norms, international law and human rights, including the rights of women and children, are an integral part of the EU-India strategic agenda,” the text adds.

The Council called on the European Commission to advance the articulation and implementation of this “new EU-India strategic agenda” based on the priorities set out in last month’s Joint Communication.

It followed the visit of the College of Commissioners to India in February this year, which laid the foundations for a “new chapter in EU-India relations”.

During this historic visit – the first of its kind in the Indo-Pacific region – the two sides committed to elevating the strategic partnership to a higher level to promote shared prosperity, strengthen security and tackle major global challenges together, the joint communication said.