At the third ministerial meeting of the India–EU Trade and Technology Council in Brussels on July 15, the two sides agreed to begin formal negotiations on India’s association with Horizon Europe, establish an innovation hub for electric-vehicle charging technologies, launch a deep-tech startup partnership and expand cooperation in semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, high-performance computing and 6G. The meeting was co-chaired from the Indian side by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada, with the European delegation led by European Commission Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič and Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva. The joint statement described India and the EU as “natural strategic partners in an increasingly complex geopolitical environment.” The two sides aim to conclude the Horizon Europe negotiations before the end of 2026.