A joint CSDR–CSDS platform for assessing threat convergence and identifying concrete cooperation pathways across priority security and defense domains for India and the EU.
Amid growing geopolitical competition, Europe is reassessing its dependencies on China and the United States, aligning more closely with India’s own commitment to strategic autonomy. With the multilateral rules-based order under strain, security now extends well beyond the military sphere. It encompasses energy, economic, cyber and maritime dimensions that together shape the strategic landscape for both partners.
Russia’s war against Ukraine reshaped Europe’s threat perceptions, and few expect a return to a pre-2022 status quo. Europe’s eastern flank remains exposed to grey-zone threats, and policy unpredictability in the transatlantic space is pushing the European Union to revisit its defence dependencies and preparedness, including through initiatives such as Readiness 2030. India, meanwhile, is managing an unstable neighbourhood shaped by an assertive China, a volatile Pakistan and the enduring risk of a two-front conflict. As a resident Indo-Pacific power, it is investing heavily in maritime capability, defence modernisation, indigenisation under Make in India, and the diversification of partnerships to reduce dependency on any single source. In this moment, India emerges as a natural partner for Europe.
Despite rising political alignment, the relationship still runs on fragmented, project-based engagement. That pattern hampers trust-building, long-term planning and the development of durable institutional linkages. Two questions follow. Where do India and the EU demonstrate genuine threat convergence, and how can those areas of convergence be translated into structured, capability-oriented cooperation?
To address this, CSDR New Delhi and CSDS Brussels have launched a dedicated India–EU Research Initiative titled SECURE-INDO: Security Convergence and Capability Enhancement for the EU–India Partnership. The Initiative provides a structured, closed-door platform for assessing threat convergence and mapping cooperation pathways across maritime security, space, cyber resilience, air and missile defence, defence industrial production, and emerging technologies including artificial intelligence. A core aim is to compare Indian and European threat perceptions across these domains, identify where each side’s capability gaps might be met by the other, and build the trusted environment that candid strategic exchange requires.
The Initiative runs its first phase over thirteen months, from June 2026 to June 2027, and is designed as the foundation for a longer-term partnership. It combines a series of four thematic roundtables, each paired with a co-authored policy brief, with two flagship High-Level Defence Exchanges held in Brussels and New Delhi. Particular emphasis is placed on the defence industrial dimension, including a dedicated interface between the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers and ASD Europe to explore co-development, supply chain resilience and the regulatory bottlenecks that shape bilateral cooperation. The Initiative also builds on and reinforces existing frameworks in the region, including ESIWA+ and Team Europe initiatives.