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Europe seldom hits headlines in India. Recent interest has been generated due to Narendra Modi's upcoming trips in April to France and Germany, two of the biggest foreign investors in India and close partners in global fora. The dampener, though, has been the decision to postpone the India-European Union (EU) Summit that got mired in controversies ranging from the Italian marines to sluggish bureaucracy. It is no secret that India was peeved with Brussels' delay in fixing the date for the summit the two sides were willing to schedule with Modi's Germany and France trips.

The last edition of India-EU Summit was held in 2012 amid the sluggishness that had hit the Manmohan Singh government. A summit has been on the cards since the change of guard at Delhi. While efforts are on to reschedule the bilateral summit later this year, it would have been an opportune moment to schedule it to bolster ties. After all, India was one of the first countries to maintain relations with the supranational institutions of the EU.

India-EU relations date back to the early 1960s. A cooperation agreement signed in 1994 took the bilateral relationship beyond trade and economic cooperation. At the 5th India-EU Summit at the Hague in 2004, the relationship was upgraded to a 'Strategic Partnership'. The two sides adopted a joint action plan in 2005 (which was reviewed in 2008) that provided for strengthening dialogue and consultation mechanisms in the political and economic spheres, enhancing trade and investment and bringing peoples and cultures together.

The EU as a bloc of 28 countries is India's largest trading partner. Bilateral trade stood at roughly 93 billion (`6,371 billion) in 2013-14. India and the EU have been negotiating a bilateral free trade and investment agreement (FTIA) since June 2007 and have missed several deadlines to conclude the talks, due to unresolved issues mostly related to market access. The deal aims to be a broad-based trade and investment agreement, which will cover over 95% of tariff lines.

But earlier this week, the Indian government has indicated flexibility for an early conclusion of the FTIA. Delhi has informed the EU ambassador in India and ambassadors of individual EU countries that it is ready to talk with the European community.

At stake is an agreement that would create one of the world's largest free trade zones. While India's relations with bigger European countries have prospered on a bilateral basis over the decades, the EU remains critical for Delhi's outreach to newer and smaller European countries and vice-versa. It is these states which will find the EU to be the right platform to maximise their relations with India. Similarly, for Delhi, the institutional linkages are key to expand political and economic relations with smaller EU states where bilateral bonds are not always adequate for pushing partnership.

The EU Three which have wielded the most influence within the EU Germany, France and Britainhave developed multi-faceted ties with India irrespective of the EU. However, Delhi's growing strategic partnerships with this troika have not translated into similar strategic ties with the EU. The under-performing EU-India Strategic Dialogue has been described as high on rhetoric and low on substance. Indian dialogue with institutions of the EU is conditioned through the lenses of bilateral strategic relationships with this EU troika.

India has preferred to give weightage to bilateral ties with individual EU states and bigger countries. But it is imperative now to deepen bonds with the EU. India-Asean relations could serve as a model for India-EU ties as well. Besides, a stronger India-EU partnership would also enable Delhi greater access in the Eurasian region.

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European Union: More than just its parts