Key takeaways from India–EU Summit: FTA sealed, 2030 roadmap adopted, defence pact signed

India and the European Union on Tuesday confirmed that they have wrapped up negotiations on the long-pending free trade agreement, widely described as the “mother of all deals.” The announcement was made in New Delhi at a joint press conference attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and European Council President António Luís Santos da Costa.

Addressing the media, PM Modi said closer India–EU collaboration would add stability at a time of global uncertainty. The EU leaders also lauded India’s warmth and cultural diversity, recalling their experience as chief guests at the Republic Day celebrations.

Here are the top takeaways from the India-EU summit

1. Both countries signed the landmark India-EU free trade agreement (FTA), hailed as a milestone in the India-EU strategic partnership aimed at enhancing bilateral trade and investment ties significantly, driving shared prosperity, strengthening resilient and diversified supply chains, and supporting sustainable and inclusive growth. 
2. PM Modi and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also adopted — Towards 2030: India-EU Joint Comprehensive Strategic Agenda — to elevate the strategic cooperation between both countries. 
3. The two sides will also strengthen collaboration on emerging technologies, innovation, and research, including by creating EU-India Innovation Hubs and launching an EU-India Startup Partnership. 
4. The strategic agenda eyes progress in critical areas such as prosperity and sustainability, technology and innovation, security and defence, connectivity and global challenges, as well as enabling factors such as skills, mobility, business and people‑to‑people ties.
5. The India-EU Security and Defence Partnership was also signed. The overarching framework aims at deepening ties in the realms of maritime security, defence industry and technology, cyber and hybrid threats, space, and counter‑terrorism, among others. 
6. Both sides also began negotiations on the Security of Information Agreement that would facilitate the exchange of classified information and make way for a stronger cooperation in areas related to security and defence. 
7. Apart from this, the Indian and European officials have been tasked to complete negotiations on an Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) and on an Agreement on Geographical Indications (GIs). 
8. India and the EU said they have complementary strengths in technology and will deepen cooperation across the entire value chain, from research and innovation to market deployment. They reaffirmed the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) as the cornerstone of their technology partnership to address trade, technology and economic security challenges.
9. Both sides will expand cooperation on digital public infrastructure, interoperable standards, and emerging technologies such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing and 6G, while also strengthening clean-tech collaboration.
10. They will step up discussions on economic and research security, including supply-chain resilience and protection of sensitive technologies. The next TTC ministerial meeting will be held in Brussels in 2026, alongside deeper business engagement.
11. The leaders also focused on the importance of an effective multilateral system, with the United Nations at its core. They underlined the importance of comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council to make it more representative, inclusive, transparent, efficient, effective, democratic, accountable and reflective of contemporary geopolitical realities. 
12. They further emphasised the role of the World Trade Organisation in the multilateral trading system and global trade governance, underlining that meaningful, necessary and comprehensive reform of the WTO is essential to improve its functions so that it is better suited to advance all Members' objectives.