The European Uniom has
come up with a road map for strengthening ties with India. EU is releasing its
strategy on India after 14 years. The European Union (EU) Ambassador to India,
Tomasz Kozlowski, underlined that “India is on the top of the agenda of the EU
in the field of external relations… this strategy paper reflects that EU has
taken India’s priorities very seriously. We are ready for a joint leap.”
EU-India partnership had
been adrift for a while in the absence of a clearly articulated strategy. The
new strategy underscores a transformative shift. The talks of key focus areas are
the need to conclude a broader Strategic Partnership Agreement, intensifying
dialogue on Afghanistan and Central Asia, strengthening technical cooperation
on fighting terrorism, and countering radicalisation, violent extremism and
terrorist financing. More significant is a recognition of the need to develop defence and security
cooperation with India.
India and the EU
partnership can be instrumental in shaping the geopolitics and geoeconomics of
the 21st century. India’s relations with individual EU nations have progressed
dramatically over the last few years. U.S. President Donald Trump is upending
the global liberal order so dear to the Europeans, and China’s rise is
challenging the very values and hence a substantive engagement with India is a
natural corollary.
The Narendra Modi
government too has shed India’s diffidence of the past in engaging with the
West. The EU emerged as India’s largest trading
partner and biggest foreign investor. India seeks to manage the turbulent
geopolitics in Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific. Both EU and India recognise the importance of engaging each other. India is a natural partner in many
respects.
China’s evolution and the
Trump administration’s disdain for its Western allies has
led EU to come closer to India. India’s horizons are widening beyond South Asia
and the Indian Ocean region. The EU and
India have
been coordinating closely on regional issues. India and the EU are “natural
partners”.
Areas outlined in the
document range from security sector cooperation to countering terrorism and
regional security. These issues obviously need to be focussed on. India needs resources
and expertise from the EU for its various priority areas such as cybersecurity,
urbanisation, environmental regeneration and skill development.
In the past, the
EU-China relations carried greater traction. Now all that might change. We can
be sure that the cooperation of our country with EU strengthens in the coming
years. This gains significance in the Brexit scenario.
It is true that the EU, in
the past, were trying to come close to the Chinese but this is bound to change.
In the past, EU rules were vigorously rigged to favour the Chinese which was
one of the reasons for the US-EU tiffs.
Europe, though as much
Capitalist in outlook as the US is, is totally different in
culture/ethos and human outlook/outreach, India cannot use the same style and yardstick that we use with the US
in dealing with EU. We do have a special "affinity" and (probably)
umbilical relationship with the UK. There is a stronger possibility for India
to correlate and cooperate with EU nations, through redefining and
restructuring our International relationship agendas, diligently. That the EU
nations are both Technologically and Culturally developed should come in handy
for us to push forward on such a Mission. The gains would be very high for
India, as we would have depth and maneuverability with "additional"
options in International relationship
European community has 27
sovereign Independent nations as members in it. There is unity and cohesion
among nations. People move from one nation to another for education, employment,
business etc. and if they settle down and if they like some one locally,
propose, marry and become local citizens. it is common and not exceptional one.
27 nations have as many or just few less, national language. Several of them
have two or three as official language. There is no compulsion or coercion or
concerted effort to declare any single language as official language or lingua
franca for the community. It practices different forms of Christianity from Roman
Catholic, orthodox to Protestant to several hues hues of them. no favor for any
single denomination or strict direction for observation of religious
traditions.
United we stand to ensure
open markets, divided we allow strategic control for self domination in the
name of growth and welfare.
No comments:
Post a Comment