The debate was attended by visiting experts from Europe, Prof. Dr. Heribert Dieter and Dr. Christian Wagner from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Prof. Dr. Frank Pieke, director and CEO of the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) in Berlin, as well as Ambassador Sujan R. Chinoy, former Indian Diplomat and currently Director General of IDSA, and Dr. Meena Singh Roy, Research Fellow and head of the West Asia Centre at IDSA together with many other experts from within IDSA.
Under the umbrella of the main theme “Geostrategic and Geo-economic Challenges” various topics were debated upon by the distinguished experts and guests: the rise of China and its implications for Asia and the world, the EU and Germany’s role in it as well as the EU-India relations, just to name a few.
The European Union sees itself confronted with the challenge to ascertain which role it wants to play within the international system as well as with the question about where to draw the line between China being a partner or a rival. For many EU-member countries, an increasing security threat represented by China is ignored due to its economic weight. This is, for example, reflected in the debate on 5G- network expansion with Huawei.
The EU becoming a superpower would require even deeper regional integration which is a challenge in light of the current EU-scepticism being on the rise. Other difficulties arise in regard to lacking EU-leadership, especially in the areas of security and defence. Furthermore, the existing security alliances will have to be assessed in a fresh manner after Great Britain leaves the Union. Besides, it remains to be seen if new Commission president Ursula von der Leyen can teach the EU to speak the “language of power”, guide it to strategic autonomy and leave the US’s security umbrella.
The EU-India relations were described as being ever-deepening and expanding especially since there is a much broader understanding of each other than it has been the case in the past. Nevertheless, difficulties persist with regard to a lack of understanding on the operational mode of the EU whose actions and sovereignty are limited due to its setup as both a supra-national and inter-governmental body. From an EU-perspective, India’s reaction towards BRI, and unfolding security alliances in the Indo-Pacific region are important decisive elements determining future cooperation between India and EU.
The event was enlightening for all the participants and everyone is looking forward to further roundtable discussions in the future.