EU, India strengthen strategic partnership with third TTC

The European Union (EU) and India held the third meeting of their Trade and Technology Council (TTC) in Brussels, reaffirming the TTC as a central platform for cooperation on trade, technology and security.

Underlining the growing ambition of the EU-India strategic partnership, both sides agreed to focus on strengthening strategic value chains and deepening business engagement. The partners committed to finalising the upgrade of the TTC by the end of the year, as foreseen in the Joint EU-India Comprehensive Strategic Agenda adopted at the 16th EU-India Summit in January this year, according to a media release.

The EU and India agreed to start formal negotiations on India’s association to Horizon Europe with the aim of concluding before end 2026; establish the first EU-India Innovation Hub on EV charging technologies and testing; launch an EU-India Startup Partnership focused on deep tech clean technologies; step up cooperation on semiconductors, high-performance computing, quantum technologies, AI and 6G; and strengthen work on resilient value chains in agri-food, active pharmaceutical ingredients and clean energy technologies.

The meeting reviewed progress under the TTC’s three work strands: digital connectivity and strategic technologies; clean and green technologies; and trade, investment and resilient value chains, the media release said.

“The EU-India partnership has led to many fruitful exchanges on AI, semiconductors, interoperability of digital trust services and startups,” said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy. “Cooperation is key to taking tech from innovation to opportunity; to building the path from challenge to solution. Together with India, we will continue pursuing the common objectives to promote secure, trusted and resilient technology.” 

The EU-India Trade and Technology Council was established in April 2022 by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Its strengthening was endorsed at the 16th EU-India Summit in New Delhi on 27 January 2026. It is the first such framework that India has established with any partner and reflects the growing strategic importance of EU-India relations.

“We are working flat out to ensure speedy ratification of our EU-India Free Trade Agreement, targeting entry into force in 2027 — a true game-changer for our trade and investment relationship,” said Maroš Šefčovič, European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security; Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency. 

“By bringing India closer to Horizon Europe and connecting nearly half a million startups, we are building a partnership designed to turn shared ambition into global impact,” said Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation.