History remembers those who built empires. The twenty-first century will remember those who built the rules for technology.
The next phase of global technology competition is likely to be shaped not only by who develops the most advanced technologies, but also by who shapes the rules governing their use. As artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies become central to economic competitiveness and national security, technology partnerships are increasingly becoming instruments of geopolitical influence.
The India–EU partnership has already entered this strategic phase, with technology cooperation increasingly becoming a central pillar of the relationship. Historically centred on trade, investment, development cooperation, and multilateral engagement, the partnership has evolved to place technology governance, resilient supply chains, innovation ecosystems, and digital transformation at its core.
India and the EU share important commitments to democratic governance, open societies, sustainable development and industrialisation, and responsible technological innovation. These shared principles provide a foundation for cooperation in areas such as AI, semiconductors, cybersecurity, quantum technologies, green innovation, and digital public infrastructure.
Yet the significance of the partnership extends beyond shared values. In an increasingly fragmented technological environment, India and the EU have the potential to combine complementary strengths: India’s scale, digital deployment experience, and innovation ecosystem are highly complementary to Europe’s regulatory leadership, industrial capabilities, and influence over global technology standards.
Rather than pursuing technological alignment against other powers, the strategic objective is to build a resilient and open technology partnership capable of shaping a more multipolar digital order.
From Dialogue to Strategic Partnership
India and the EU have progressively expanded their technology engagement through institutional mechanisms such as the India–EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC), which provides a platform for cooperation on digital governance, clean technologies, trade, and supply chains. Parallel initiatives in AI, research cooperation, digital partnerships, and innovation demonstrate that technology has become a central pillar of bilateral relations.
This shift is driven by deeper changes in the global strategic environment. Both India and the EU are seeking to reinforce economic security, reduce excessive dependencies, diversify supply chains, and improve resilience in critical sectors. Technology is no longer viewed only as a commercial domain; it is increasingly understood as a strategic capability shaping national competitiveness and geopolitical influence.
However, the partnership remains uneven. India has a rapidly expanding digital economy, a large technical workforce, and a dynamic startup ecosystem, but continues to face constraints in advanced research infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing capacity, and high-end technology development. The EU possesses significant research capabilities, industrial expertise, and regulatory influence but faces challenges related to competitiveness, scaling innovation, and strategic dependence on external technology ecosystems.
These differences create opportunities for complementarity rather than obstacles to cooperation.
Strategic Drivers of India–EU Technology Cooperation
Several trends are shaping stronger incentives for deeper cooperation.
First, geopolitical competition has transformed technology supply chains into strategic assets. Both India and the EU seek to reduce vulnerabilities associated with excessive dependence on concentrated suppliers in sectors such as semiconductors, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, batteries, and critical minerals.
Second, emerging technologies are reshaping the relationship between economic power and sovereignty, and national security. Leadership in AI, quantum computing, biotechnology, and advanced manufacturing will influence future industrial competitiveness and strategic autonomy.
Third, climate change and the global energy transition require sustained technological cooperation and joint innovation. Renewable energy, energy storage, hydrogen technologies, smart infrastructure, and sustainable manufacturing represent areas where India’s development needs and Europe’s technological capabilities can complement each other.
Fourth, both partners have an interest in promoting an international technology order based on openness, interoperability, resilience, and responsible innovation rather than technological fragmentation.
AI: Combining Scale and Governance
AI represents one of the most promising areas for India–EU cooperation.
The EU has positioned itself as a global leader in AI regulation through a risk-based governance approach focused on transparency, accountability, safety, and human oversight. India, meanwhile, has emphasised innovation, sector-specific regulation, and large-scale deployment of digital technologies to support economic development and public service delivery.
Rather than viewing these approaches as competing models, both sides can benefit from their differences. Europe’s advantage lies in regulatory design and standards development, while India’s advantage lies in deploying digital technologies across a large and diverse population.
A stronger partnership could include joint AI research initiatives, regulatory sandboxes, shared testing environments, and cooperation on responsible AI standards. Such collaboration would allow both partners to contribute to global debates on AI governance while ensuring that technological development remains inclusive and practical.
Semiconductors and Supply Chain Resilience
Semiconductors underpin the modern global economy. Recent disruptions have demonstrated the risks created by concentrated production networks and fragile technology supply chains.
India is seeking to develop domestic semiconductor capabilities across fabrication, assembly, testing, packaging, and chip design as part of a broader industrial strategy aimed at strengthening supply chain resilience, attracting investment, and generating large-scale employment in the sector.
On July 4, Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the CG Semi Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) facility in Sanand, Gujarat, and highlighted India’s goal of developing a complete semiconductor ecosystem. The EU, through its own industrial strategies, is also attempting to improve semiconductor resilience and reduce strategic vulnerabilities.
Complete technological self-sufficiency is neither realistic nor desirable. India and the EU can pursue complementary cooperation across the semiconductor ecosystem, including research collaboration, workforce development, advanced materials, chip design, manufacturing partnerships, and supply-chain diversification.
Such cooperation would strengthen both partners’ resilience while creating opportunities for long-term industrial collaboration.
Digital Public Infrastructure as a Shared Opportunity
India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) initiative stands as one of the country’s most distinctive contributions to global technology governance debates.
India’s experience with large-scale digital platforms, including identity systems, digital payments, and public service infrastructure, points to how technology can support inclusion and service delivery at population scale. At the same time, Europe brings significant expertise in privacy protection, digital regulation, interoperability, and consumer rights.
The combination of India’s implementation experience and Europe’s regulatory expertise creates opportunities for cooperation on digital identity, cross-border payments, public digital services, and standards development.
Such collaboration could also strengthen engagement with developing countries seeking inclusive digital transformation models.
Green Technologies and Future Innovation
Climate technology offers another major area of convergence.
Both India and the EU recognise that achieving decarbonisation goals requires technological innovation across renewable energy, energy storage, hydrogen, sustainable transport, and circular economy systems.
Joint research programmes, industrial partnerships, technology transfer mechanisms, and green finance initiatives could support both economic growth and environmental objectives. Cooperation in these areas is important for a more stable energy security posture by reducing vulnerabilities linked to traditional energy dependencies.
However, fossil fuels still comprise around 90% of India’s primary energy use, compared to approximately 70% in the European Union, underscoring the need for a gradual, technology-driven transition supported by international cooperation—an objective that will not be easy to achieve.
Addressing Regulatory and Institutional Challenges
Despite considerable potential, differences in regulatory approaches remain.
The EU has adopted a comprehensive, risk-based regulatory framework for AI governance, as reflected in the EU AI Act adopted in 2024, which seeks to ensure legal certainty, safety, and protection of fundamental rights across member states. India, by contrast, has so far pursued a more flexible and sector-specific approach to AI governance, relying on policy frameworks and regulatory instruments that emphasise innovation, inclusion, and adaptive implementation.
A more realistic objective lies not in complete regulatory harmonisation, but in advancing interoperability through dialogue, mutual recognition, pilot projects, and shared technical standards.
Data governance, AI regulation, cybersecurity certification, procurement procedures, and digital market access will require sustained institutional engagement. The success of the partnership will depend on the ability of both sides to manage differences constructively.
Turning Cooperation into Implementation
The strategic significance of India–EU technology cooperation depends on turning political commitments into practical outcomes.
The TTC can evolve into a more operational mechanism with measurable objectives, implementation timelines, and regular progress assessments. Dedicated working groups focused on AI, semiconductors, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, and green technologies can provide a foundation for continuous coordination.
Both sides can further expand joint research funding programmes, university and scientific exchanges, startup and venture capital partnerships, industry-led innovation initiatives, and collaborative technology pilot projects.
India’s continued efforts to build domestic technological capabilities, while maintaining diversified international partnerships, will remain central to its global technology strategy. The EU, meanwhile, can increasingly view India not only as a market or manufacturing destination but as a strategic innovation partner.
Techno-Geopolitical Implications
A stronger India–EU technology partnership would carry implications extending beyond bilateral relations. As technological competition increasingly shapes global politics, deeper cooperation between India and Europe could provide an alternative model based on openness, resilience, democratic accountability, and innovation.
Together, India and the EU bring distinct but mutually reinforcing capabilities that support the emergence of a more balanced technological order. Their partnership could position both actors as co-architects of this evolving order, reducing excessive dependencies while avoiding technological fragmentation and isolation.
The EU–India free trade agreement signed earlier this year represents a significant opportunity to deepen technological cooperation between the two partners. For both sides, responding to China’s Digital Silk Road (DSR) initiative provides an avenue to shore up global supply chain resilience and promote greater digital connectivity. The India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), announced as a high-priority project during the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023, offers further potential to deepen cooperation in the technological domain.
President Donald Trump’s business-focused approach, as outlined in America’s AI Action Plan, may also support this process, particularly by encouraging greater involvement of private stakeholders rather than reliance on state institutions. This approach could provide a more flexible model of cooperation and may be more feasible than developing physical connectivity routes through conflict-affected regions such as the Middle East.
To advance the digital dimension of IMEC, enhanced subsea cable connectivity could serve as a key enabler of technological cooperation. The Blue-Raman subsea cable system, operationalised in 2025, connects India with France through Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Jordan, and Israel, representing an initial step toward strengthening digital connectivity across the corridor.
However, maritime security remains a shared concern for both the EU and India. Subsea cables, which carry more than 95% of intercontinental data, remain vulnerable to disruption or sabotage by both state and non-state actors, as illustrated by incidents in the Red Sea, underscoring the need for greater cooperation on digital infrastructure protection and maritime resilience.
Looking Ahead
India–EU technology cooperation has moved beyond traditional economic engagement and entered a strategic phase. Shared democratic principles provide an important foundation, but the future of the partnership will depend on implementation, institutional capacity, and sustained investment in innovation ecosystems.
AI, semiconductors, digital public infrastructure, cybersecurity, and green technologies offer opportunities for meaningful collaboration. Yet success will require managing regulatory differences through pragmatic cooperation rather than pursuing complete alignment.
Whether India and the EU can sustain this momentum amid growing geopolitical uncertainty, economic fragmentation, and accelerating technological change remains an open question.
The future of global technology governance will be shaped not only by technological capabilities but also by the partnerships that define their use. If India and the EU successfully translate shared principles into practical cooperation, they can demonstrate how democratic economies can build technological resilience, strengthen economic security, and shape an open and inclusive digital future.
Authored by:
Scott N. Romaniuk {Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Contemporary Asia Studies, Corvinus Institute for Advanced Studies (CIAS); Department of International Relations, Institute of Global Studies, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary; Non-resident Fellow, The Dialogue, India.}
László Csicsmann {Full Professor and Head, Centre for Contemporary Asia Studies, Corvinus Institute for Advanced Studies (CIAS); Senior Research Fellow, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs (HIIA), Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary; Non-resident Fellow, The Dialogue, India.}
Gaurav Tyagi {Assistant Professor at the Special Centre for National Security Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)}
