From Strategy to Implementation: Building an EU

Cooperation with India can help the EU realise its AI industrial ambitions. Faced with a new geopolitical reality shaped by great power rivalry, the EU needs to reconcile a pragmatic approach to power, interests and technological dependencies with its democratic values. A strategic partnership with India offers a pathway to address internal structural constraints and complement domestic capacity-building. In a recent Jacques Delors Centre policy brief, co-authored with Gaurav Sharma, we outline how to operationalise EU–India AI cooperation across four key domains: infrastructure, data, language technologies, and innovation ecosystem.

Europe’s AI industrial agenda

Europe’s dependence on foreign technology has become a vulnerability, increasingly at odds with its ambitions for technological sovereignty and strategic autonomy. The EU relies on third countries for over 80% of its digital products, infrastructure, and intellectual property. In response, the European Commission has advanced an ambitious AI industrial strategy focused on scaling compute capacity, improving access to high-quality data, strengthening digital skills, and accelerating adoption across the economy. Central to this effort is the deployment of 19 AI Factories to support startups, industry, and research in developing generative AI, alongside plans for up to five AI Gigafactories capable of training large-scale, general-purpose models. Anchored in the 2025 AI Continental Action Plan, these initiatives aim to build an integrated European ecosystem of compute, data, and AI capabilities in line with the vision for a European tech stack. Delivering on these ambitions will require engaging external partners to achieve the scale, utilisation, and competitiveness necessary for a viable European AI ecosystem.

India as a strategic partner for the EU

Faced with a shifting geopolitical landscape shaped by great power rivalry, the European Commission has identified India as a “natural strategic partner” for good reason. Both sides share a strong commitment to human-centric and trustworthy AI, reflected in their alignment with frameworks such as the OECD AI Principles and UNESCO’s AI Ethics Recommendation. Projected to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2030, India also brings a set of complementary capabilities that align closely with Europe’s industrial ambitions. Its rapidly expanding AI start-up ecosystem, large pool of technical talent, and access to diverse, large-scale datasets present a compelling case for strategic partnerships as an alternative to protectionism and zero-sum competition.

EU and India as AI tech stack partners

As the EU seeks to mobilise up to €200 billion in public and private capital for AI, strengthening the commercial viability of AI infrastructure will be critical. Under its new industrial policy agenda, the EU is establishing a pan-European network of AI Factories and AI Experience Centres to expand compute capacity and support deployment. Given the high fixed costs and strong economies of scale inherent to AI infrastructure, sustained utilisation will be key to making these investments economically viable.

To address this, the EU’s forthcoming Charter of Access for industrial users of research and technology infrastructure should be adapted to enable Indian AI start-ups and SMEs to access European compute resources remotely. In return, India could contribute public and social sector datasets for model training, while firms pay for access through competitive pricing or equity-based co-investment schemes involving European instruments such as the European Innovation Council Fund or InvestEU. Enabling Indian innovators to develop and test applications on European infrastructure would not only strengthen utilisation and the underlying business case for investment, but also anchor AI development in European technical and regulatory standards.

Language cooperation as a flagship initiative

Both the EU and India face a shared challenge: developing high-quality AI systems in contexts marked by linguistic diversity and uneven data availability. As language data underpins large language models and many downstream AI applications, expanding access to high-quality multilingual datasets carries significant economic potential. By reducing linguistic barriers through AI-enabled translation and language technologies, more SMEs could participate in cross-border markets — potentially increasing intra-EU trade by up to €360 billion.

Linking Europe’s Alliance for Language Technologies (ALT-EDIC) with India’s initiatives such as BHASHINI, BharatGen, and AI4Bharat would provide a strong institutional foundation for cooperation. Joint efforts should focus on co-developing benchmarks, aligning data standards and licensing frameworks, and building open-source multilingual models. As a flagship initiative, this approach would not only lower barriers to AI adoption but also demonstrate how EU–India cooperation can deliver inclusive, scalable, and economically meaningful AI solutions.

A complementary EU–India innovation strategy

A complementary EU–India innovation strategy should prioritise strengthening India’s Tier-2 and Tier-3 research institutions to build a larger and more inclusive talent pipeline. With the EU projected to miss its Digital Decade target of 20 million ICT specialists, access to India’s talent pool has become a strategic priority. While India is home to over 600,000 AI professionals, advanced research capacity remains concentrated in a small number of elite institutions with strong ties to U.S. technology firms. By contrast, many Tier-2 and Tier-3 institutions remain disconnected from frontier AI research due to limited compute access, weaker research capacity, and gaps in high-quality training programmes.

Addressing this gap does not require matching U.S. hyperscaler investments. Instead, targeted capacity-building, joint certification programmes, and AI training curricula aligned with EU standards could extend research and skills development beyond established hubs. Unlocking this untapped potential—combined with measures to strengthen workforce mobility and skills recognition—would broaden participation in India’s digital economy while helping to meet Europe’s growing demand for AI talent.

From strategy to implementation: building an EU–India AI partnership

To deliver on its AI industrial agenda, the EU must leverage its strategic partnerships. While the EU–India Trade and Technology Council (TTC) and the 2026 Comprehensive Strategic Agenda mark important steps towards closer cooperation, much of this engagement remains at the level of intent. Effectively implementing a mutually beneficial AI partnership with India would not only strengthen Europe’s domestic capacity, but also demonstrate that values-based industrial policy can serve as a viable alternative in the global AI race

Leonard Baum is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Digital Governance at the Hertie School. His research focuses on competition and industrial policy from a comparative perspective, with a particular interest in AI governance and the regulation of digital platforms. He has worked with Prof. Joanna Bryson and OECD Fellow Brian Kahin on the intersection of the digital economy and public policy, and previously held positions in the German Bundestag, the European Parliament, and political consulting.