Generation EU-India (GenEI) successfully hosted an online Fireside Chat, “Rethinking EU– India Connectivity for a Sustainable Future,” exclusively for Associate Members.
Bringing together Associate Members from across Europe and India, the discussion reflected on environmental governance, sustainable connectivity, and the future of development partnerships amid a rapidly shifting geopolitical order. The conversation explored India’s dual identity as both a recipient and provider of development finance, the EU’s Global Gateway initiative and its gaps in Indo-Pacific representation, the prospects and constraints of EU-India trilateral cooperation in third countries, and the principle of common but differentiated responsibility in climate finance, while situating the discussion within the broader context of a multipolar world and shrinking development budgets.
The guest was Dr. Swati Prabhu (Fellow, Observer Research Foundation), author of European Union’s Connectivity Agenda: Forging Partnerships for Environmental Governance (Palgrave Macmillan, 2025), and the session was moderated by Vanisha Hemrajani (Head of Events, GenEI), with opening remarks by Aditi Mukund (Co-President, GenEI). The discussion drew on insights from Dr. Prabhu’s book and her recent visit to Brussels under the EU Visitors Programme, highlighting both opportunities for deeper EU-India cooperation and the challenges that remain in translating political ambition into tangible outcomes, particularly around environmental governance and sustainable connectivity.
The event concluded with closing reflections linking the discussion to real-time climate changes felt in both the EU and in India, and Dr. Prabhu offering young researchers concrete entry points into EU-India policymaking, energy transition and climate justice, alternative post-2030 financing models, while sharing that she is already working on a follow-up book on this topic.
Generation EU-India 