India, the Inevitable? How the War in Ukraine Shapes EU-India Energy Relations

Abstract

In the wake of global energy shortages that were triggered or intensified by the Russian war in Ukraine, the search for reliable and sustainable resources is intensifying. Consequently, both new energy partnerships and the expansion of existing agreements are pushed by EU member states. In this article, we examine these trends with a particular eye on green hydrogen and its role in the cooperation between India and the EU. Not only in this context is this ‘fuel of the considered’ a climate hope and an economic miracle cure and therefore it increasingly takes on a central role in the apparently growing overtures of the EU to its partners in the Indo-Pacific in general, and India in particular, especially in, but not limited to, the field of energy. With India’s growing geopolitical stature and confidence, which is most visible in its focus on strategic autonomy and neutrality in regard to the war in Ukraine, as well as its – at times – increasingly divergent political values in comparison to some of its European partners, the content and scope of the currently underdeveloped partnership continues to be in question.