ABSTRACT
This chapter deconstructs the key milestones of the European Union (EU)–India relationship to flesh out the argument that what has emerged is disappointing for so-called 'like-minded' partners. It focuses on the development of the 2004 Strategic Partnership, which, while underwhelming even in relative terms, still surpasses the continued difficulties regarding the EU–India Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which still has not been agreed after almost a decade of negotiations. India has increased its prominence within the EU's overall trading relationships, moving from 15th in 2002 to 8th by 2010 and then 9th overall in 2015, reaching a total of €72.5 billion in 2014. Herman Van Rumpoy, in seeking to establish the parameters of the relationship between the EU and India, attempted to raise their mutual horizons above the commercial and even limited security cooperation to something both more symbolic and more substantive: the issue of shared values.
