The EU and India have agreed to start formal negotiations on India joining Horizon Europe and to set up new cooperation on areas including electric vehicle charging, semiconductors and artificial intelligence after their third Trade and Technology Council meeting in Brussels.
The meeting reaffirmed the council as a platform for cooperation on trade, technology and security, the European Commission announced on Wednesday.
Both sides agreed to focus on strengthening “strategic value chains” — the networks of suppliers needed to produce and deliver key goods — and to deepen business engagement.
India and the EU also committed to finalising an upgrade of the council by the end of the year, as set out in a joint agenda agreed at the EU–India summit in January.
Among the announcements was an agreement to begin talks on India’s association to Horizon Europe, the EU’s main research and innovation funding programme, with the aim of concluding before the end of 2026.
The two sides also agreed to establish an EU–India Innovation Hub on electric vehicle charging technologies and testing, and to launch an EU–India Startup Partnership focused on “deep tech” clean technologies — advanced technology based on scientific and engineering research.
Focus on chips, AI and digital trust services
Cooperation will be stepped up on semiconductors, high-performance computing, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence and 6G, the next generation of mobile communications, the Commission said.
On digital technology, the EU and India agreed to deepen cooperation on AI, including exploring best practices for innovation in areas such as healthcare.
They will also consider further collaboration in high-performance computing, including a coordinated project supporting research on natural hazards, climate change and bioinformatics — the use of computing to analyse biological data.
The two partners agreed to continue technical work on interoperability and mutual recognition of digital trust services, including digital wallets, building on an administrative agreement on advanced electronic signatures and seals signed in January 2026.
In clean technologies, the meeting reviewed joint research supported by €60 million over four years, including projects on waste-to-hydrogen, marine pollution and electric vehicle battery recycling.
On trade and supply chains, both sides confirmed cooperation on resilient value chains in agri-food, active pharmaceutical ingredients and clean energy technologies.
EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said the EU was “targeting entry into force in 2027” for an EU–India free trade agreement.
