Unione Europea e India: un partenariato strategico alla sfida delle tensioni globali

In the context of escalating global tensions, India is emerging as a Eurasian pole pursuing an autonomous and dynamic strategic positioning vis-à-vis the Sino–American rivalry. While maintaining a broad convergence with Western partners, New Delhi continues to embrace a policy of multialignment, preserving strategic ties with Russia and supporting a multipolar reconfiguration of global power through frameworks such as BRICS and the SCO, alongside its participation in the QUAD. This posture represents both an opportunity and a challenge for the European Union. Bound to the principle of external conditionality and to the defence of a Rule-Based International Order, the EU nevertheless identifies India as a privileged partner due to shared democratic foundations and sustainability goals, while being compelled to accept India’s strategic autonomy. The EU–India strategic partnership, progressively strengthened since 2004 and further upgraded through recent roadmaps and joint communications, assigns India a key role within the Global Gateway initiative as an alternative connectivity axis to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The chapter analyses the main dimensions of this partnership, with particular attention to infrastructure projects, situating EU–India relations within broader geopolitical and geo-economic tensions among the United States, China, Russia, and India.