Today, both India and the European Union have arisen as global economic powers and are aiming to consolidate their role and boost their leadership in political and security issues of regional and global concern. The context is well-known: the collapse of the Soviet Union brought fundamental alterations of the international system and opened the door to the on-going world systemic adjustment. In addition, a new spectrum of unconventional threats and challenges has joined the international security equation and calls for increased trans-national cooperation. Within that new security environment, India has expressed a "belief in the vital importance of multilateralism," while the EU has declared its strong desire to support an international system based on "effective multilateralism." Today, their multi-sectoral dialogue is therefore believed to be at the top of their respective foreign policy agendas.

Nevertheless, there is a minimal, if not non-existent, awareness of what the security and political dialogue within the Strategic Partnership (SP) is about, as also about the implementation of the Joint Action Plan (JAP). The visit of Ms. Benita Ferrero-Waldner to India (15-20 February 2007) - the first since her 2005 appointment - was probably scheduled with the intention of raising the Partnership's profile and creating awareness amongst the Indian political, business and intellectual classes. The most relevant data provided by the EU Commissioner is probably the new financial package brought to the table - €67million per year from 2007 to 2013. This is undoubtedly a sign of increased EU interest towards India and might reveal a real strategy to close the gaps between European and South Asian issues of concern.

Ms. Ferrero-Waldner visit has, however, not entirely counter-balanced the widespread reservations which persist, particularly regarding the concrete steps currently being undertaken to implement the agreed principles of "strengthening mechanisms of consultation" on political and security matters. Initial doubts about the viability of the new agreement concentrated on the terminology of the SP itself, criticized as being empty rhetoric rather than a content-driven strategy. Such misgivings have been amplified by the fact that actual specific implementation measures have so far been only vaguely visible. In fact, doubts remain as to whether any new cooperation mechanisms have actually been put into practice.

The JAP Implementation Report of October 2006 accounts for some further steps. The first meeting of the EU-India Security Dialogue was held in New Delhi in May 2006, and focused on disarmament and non-proliferation. A new security dialogue meeting is expected in May 2007 in New Delhi. Though the agenda has not been officially divulged, energy security, climate change and global warming and the Iran nuclear issue are likely to be discussed.

Another important collaboration between India and some EU member states was the successful establishment of the UN Human Rights Council as well as the UN Peace-Building Commission, both of which have an Indian and substantial EU presence. According to a EU Presidency official, peace-keeping and peace-building are amongst the areas where numerous and successful talks are being conducted. Strengthening dialogue on political issues through various forms of multilateralism is high on the agenda and several high-level meetings during the next months are planned. India will host the next SAARC summit in April with the EU as an observer for the first time, alongside the US and South Korea. Progress on the implementation of the JAP regarding international affairs will be at the core of the EU-India Foreign Ministers meeting in Hamburg next March. Also in Hamburg, a new mechanism of informal consultation this May will reunite the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU, ASEAN, China and India, with the intention of deepening and widening the security and political dialogue. According to the EU official, this forum is the first of its kind and a new and unique format - the parties plan to create a series of forums on regional and global security issues which can be initiated by any of the participants. The ASEAN Presidency and the EU will take care of the budget of this new multilateral forum, which is unquestionably intended to bring European and Asian strategic concerns closer together.

However, all that glitters is not gold, While the SP appears to be more pronounced and action-oriented, some deep inconsistencies remain. Obstacles imposed by the EU institutional architecture and decision-making mechanisms remain critical - as recent and largely unreported resignation of the EU Anti-terrorist Coordinator de Vrijs shows. This crisis forms the main obstacle for the implementation of the SP - while trade and commerce are indisputable competencies of the Commission, things are murkier where political affairs are concerned. This has a doubly negative impact on the general implementation of the SP. On the one side, India might find it difficult to reconcile multilateral and bilateral contacts, having doubts on who to call depending on the issue. On the other side, the EU obviously suffers from a lack of consistency in its approach towards India and from an inability to reach a consensus and a common security strategy "at work" with respect to South Asia.