A Partnership Between Two Large Elephants? Opportunities and Challenges in India–EU Relations

Abstract

This chapter examines opportunities and challenges in India–EU relations. Notwithstanding recent positive progress such as the adoption of an EU Strategy on India, Pascaline Winand considers the implementation impediments that stand in the way of more practical and effective EU–India cooperation. She first looks at EU–India mutual perceptions and misperceptions as a key challenge to the efficiency of cooperation efforts between India and the EU. The author also studies the self-perception of India in relation to the EU, as well as the EU’s self-perception regarding India. She seeks to assess the extent to which mutual perceptions and self-perceptions have changed over time. Subsequently, the chapter analyses bureaucratic structures, decision-making processes, meetings and agreements in EU–India relations. Comparing the bureaucratic structures and decision-making processes of the EU and of India in dealing with one another yields a fascinating picture of very similar challenges on both sides, while examining the structure of common meetings is equally informative. The following section considers Indian and EU public diplomacy efforts and limitations, including the low visibility of the EU in India in specific fields. The author concludes with an appraisal of the prospects for the EU–India partnership in the light of recent developments, such as Brexit and COVID-19.