Transatlantic Take
May 4, 2021
On May 8 India’s prime minister and the heads of state of all 27 EU countries will meet for a historic Leaders’ Meeting. This is the first time that an Indian leader will participate in such a meeting. In fact, the format is rarely used and offered by the EU. Such a meeting was supposed to take place last year with China’s President Xi Jinping under different circumstances but, with new tensions in the EU-Chinese partnership after the coronavirus crisis, it was reduced to a different, much smaller format. This unprecedented meeting marks a turning point for the Europe-India relationship, and the culmination of sustained efforts by New Delhi to invest more diplomatic resources in Europe, reversing years of political neglect. It also reflects a marked change of tone and posture in Brussels and other European capitals, which seem keen to invest much more effort into ties with India.