ABSTRACT
At the turn of the twenty-first century, European Union (EU) indifference seemed to change somewhat as it began to increase its engagement in India and to hold annual summits. The European Union has been placing considerable emphasis on 'effective multilateralism'. This chapter presents a brief review of the evolution of the India - EU strategic partnership. It focuses on their attitudes toward global governance, multilateralism, multilateral trade negotiations, and on Indian perceptions of postmodernist Europe's growing profile as a norms entrepreneur. The chapter examines the nature of the enhanced political dialogue and describes the potential for security cooperation. It explores why the United States is more important than the Union for Indian policy makers, and how the EU's strategic partnership with China differs from its partnership with India. The chapter considers the question of whether the EU is a model for South Asia.
