Seminar: “Relations Between Europe and India in a Multipolar World”
Organised by the Spain-India Council Foundation, together with the Elcano Royal Institute and with the collaboration of the Ramón Areces Foundation, within the framework of the Spain-India Dual Year
Within the framework of the first meeting in Madrid of a Senior Working Group on India, promoted at the European level, the Spain-India Council Foundation, as the driving force behind the Spain-India Observatory, together with the Elcano Royal Institute and with the collaboration of the Ramón Areces Foundation, held the seminar "Relations between Europe and India in a Multipolar World."
Three experts from three different European universities participated in this seminar, which addressed highly topical issues such as the situation in the Indo-Pacific, the evolution of Europe-India relations, competition between great powers, and the various European approaches to the Asian country.
In his opening remarks, the president of the Spain-India Council Foundation, Juan Ignacio Entrecanales, emphasized that "every new economic forecast, demographic projection, or geopolitical analysis seems to place India among the key players shaping the future (...) India is already one of the great powers of the 21st century, but for many Europeans it remains a country as fascinating as it is insufficiently understood. Precisely for this reason, the initiative that brings us together today is so valuable."
For his part, Javier Ortega, Director of Cultural Affairs at the Ramón Areces Foundation, stated that "in this increasingly complex world, Europe needs strategic allies like India. The goal is to find common ground in a strategic relationship for both parties, in critical areas such as trade, digitalization, and technology." The free trade agreement signed this year between the European Union and India will create "the largest free trade area in the world, benefiting 2 billion people, a quarter of the world's population."
Ana Ballesteros, professor at the Complutense University of Madrid and senior researcher at the Elcano Royal Institute, moderated the discussion, introducing the three experts: Kate Sullivan de Estrada (University of Oxford), Antonina Luszczykiewicz-Mendis (Jagiellonian University in Krakow), and Emilio Contreras (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation). Together they analyzed India's relationship with Europe in general and with three European countries that are not usually the most studied: the United Kingdom, Poland, and Spain.
These three countries maintain entirely different relationships with India. The United Kingdom, after Brexit, seeks to regain control of its foreign economic policy, which until recently it shared with the rest of the European Union; Poland, which has never had a particularly close relationship with India, now sees a window of opportunity thanks to the EU Free Trade Agreement; and finally, Spain, which in recent years has intensified its relationship with India, culminating in 2026 with the celebration of the Spain-India Dual Year, structured around three pillars: culture, tourism, and artificial intelligence.
As Juan Ignacio Entrecanales pointed out, "Twenty years ago, relations between Spain and India occupied a secondary place on our respective agendas, but today they encompass economic cooperation, technology, energy, education, innovation, and, of course, geopolitics. (...) Both businesses and society value this collaboration highly, and its potential is far from exhausted."
