In the early 1960s, India was among the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the former European Economic Community (ECC). If trade has always been a driving force and economic relations have rapidly progressed, even this domain remains susceptible for larger cooperation. In consequence of its recent enlargement to 25 member-states, the European Union has now around 455 million people and a GDP of 10 trillion euros. With this growing internal market, the possibilities for a deepening of trade with foreign partners increase.

Several agreements regulate economic relations between the EU and India, in trade and textiles, technical cooperation and new technology, development, health and welfare, maritime transport and others. The Science and Technology Agreement (2001) particularly emphasises the issue of sustainable development. The Customs Co-operation Agreement (2004) was established in order to facilitate trade. Indian exports also benefit from the Generalised System Preferences, thus resulting on a significant reduction of tariffs. But, while the EU is the leading foreign investor in India and its largest trading partner (one-fourth of India's total imports/exports), India's share in EU's total trade is only about one per cent.

During the last few years India and the EU have been deepening their relationship beyond the economic domain. Today, EU-India relations are broadening to political, social and cultural issues. Several bilateral agreements have been signed (1973, 1981, 1994), the 1994 Co-operation Agreement being most crucial to the evolution of the EU-India political dialogue.

The 1994 Co-operation Agreement provided for an EC India Joint Commission. Three sub-commissions were created with each dealing in different fields - trade, economic cooperation and development cooperation - and coordinating a wide range of projects, such as the Orissa Project, Erasmus Mundus or the Trade and Investment Development Programme. This 1994 agreement considered a third generation agreement, came with a Joint Political Statement, which constitutes the institutional basis for EU-India political dialogue, leading to regular ministerial meetings and later to the momentous Lisbon Summit on 28 June 2000. India's increasing regional and global leadership led to the need to evaluate the existing dialogue framework. The country has ever since been considered a top level dialogue partner.

This dialogue was extended by the Commission Communication for an "EU-India Enhanced Partnership" and the Commission Communication (both in June 1996), setting up concrete proposals for the established Strategic Partnership. Later in 1997, the European executive suggested five mechanisms in order to improve EU-India's political relations: bilateral meetings, a think-thank network, senior official meetings, creation of specialised working groups, and meetings between the Commission and Indian planners.

Both India, and the now enlarged EU are aware of their changing roles as regional and global actors. The two parties have been discussing UN reform, proliferation, terrorism or situations in Iraq, West Asia and Afghanistan. Most recently, the Fifth India-EU Summit took place in The Hague (Netherlands) on 8 November 2004. The summit sketched a five point action-plan, regarding combating terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Despite eventual differences in approach, both the Indian team, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and the EU, led by the European Council President at the time, Jan Peter Balkenende, agreed on setting up mechanisms to tackle the access of terrorists to financial and other economic resources, to ensure border control, to take in hand issues that may provide factors conducive to terrorism. In addition, both sides remain supporters of United Nations' work in this field and related UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, mainly the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

It must be underlined that India and the EU tend to cooperate narrowly in the identification of what are seen as "common interests" in the international arena and in international organisations in particular. For instance, New Delhi regards the EU as a potential backer in its pursuit to join the UNSC, while Europe sees in India an important ally to counter US unilateralism. In fact, diplomatic relations established by the EU with India and Asia in general are part of its efforts to make possible a legitimate multilateral system.

Regarding the most recent setback on European integration, it is true that the adoption of the European Constitutional Treaty, only possible in a consensus basis, became essential to tackle the problems consequent of EU's expansion and avoid the collapse of the institutions. As far as foreign relations is concerned, the ratification of the constitution by all member-states would represent a step forward to a European foreign policy with the creation of a ministry of foreign affaires and the eventual consolidation of the EU as an important pole.

Though a common European future appears uncertain and its confidence has taken a beating with the recent "no" votes to the treaty from some of its members, it is not evident that its "uncommon" foreign policy will change. Much has been done in the approach to foreign partners, mostly on a state to state basis, on other times using the EU's institutional framework and this tendency is likely to increase in the coming years.