SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK

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The EU-India Think Tank Seminar, 15-16 October 2002, in Brussels:

The first Summit between the European Union and India in Lisbon in June 2000 called for increased dialogue between civil society in India and the EU. The Agenda for Action agreed upon at the Summit specifically provides for the creation of a network of think tanks. The EU-India Think Tank Seminar, sponsored by the European Commission at the initiative of the Right Honourable Christopher Patten, European Commissioner for External Relations, was the initial stage in this effort.
The seminar in Brussels on October, 15–16, 2001, was lead by David Foquet from the European Institute for Asian Studies and by Laurence Argimon-Pristre, Head of unit, India, Bhutan & Nepal, European Commission. Among the prominent keynote speakers were:

• Christopher Patten
• Omar Farooq Abdullah, Minister of State for External Affairs, Government of India
• P K Singh, Ambassador of India to the EU
• R K Jain, School of International Studies, JNU, New Delhi
• Frédéric Grare, Centre des Sciences Humaines, New Delhi
• Charan Wadhwa, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi

On the EU side, Member States had nominated on average two leading think tanks each to participate at the seminar. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has for its part nominated a wide range of leading institutions from India with expertise in the themes selected for the seminar. The aim of the seminar was to contribute to raising the profile and level of exchanges between the EU and India through enhanced involvement of think tanks.

Four simultaneous working sessions enabled the participating think tanks to identify common strands and differences in their research and analysis. Major cross-cutting themes had been selected which are of key importance for both the European Union and India.

• Federalism and Decentralisation entailed an examination of current trends and prospects, including also of the possible relevance for India of the special experience of evolving European integration. The central theme for this comparative session was supposed to be the changing character of federal government as well as the dynamics of decentralisation observed both in various EU Member States and in India.

• Global Energy Challenges tried to draw out geopolitical aspects of energy security both for India/South Asia and EU/Europe. Joint analysis could look at the economic, environment, scientific and geo-political aspects of India’s and the EU’s energy security and its political and strategic implications.

• Global Security Challenges considered the New Millenium security challenges, both from a regional and international perspective. The implications for Asia of the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) as well as the shifts in the balance of power within Asia as a central focus of discussion.

• Governance and Democratic Traditions examined the growing role of civil society in both the EU and India in the design and deliverance of democratic decision-making. The session addressed issues such as transparency, rule of law, legal protection, political and civil rights…

At their respective working sessions, think tanks were invited to present their work programmes relevant to these themes and possible fresh project ideas for follow-up.
The proceedings of the seminar will be published, including abstracts of the presentation by the think tanks. EU Member States have expressed their interest in the recommendations and conclusions that emerge from the seminar.

The seminar will provide a platform for co-operation between think tanks and is expected to provide vital inputs and guidance in the elaboration of a fully-fledged EU-India Think Tank Network Programme in the near future. It is also foreseen that until this programme (open to think tanks without distinction as to whether they have participated or not in the seminar) becomes fully operational, some think tank projects could be supported by a small project facility that is expected to be operational next year.

LIST OF NOMINATED INDIAN THINK TANKS:

Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad
Bhaba Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai
Central Fuel Research Institute, Dhanbad
Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum
Centre for Policy Research, Delhi
Centre for Social Development, Delhi
Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi
Confederation of Indian Industry, Energy Cell, Delhi
Consumer Unity and Trusts Society, Jaipur
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Delhi
Federation Of Indian Chamber Of Commerce & Industry, Energy Cell, Delhi
Giri Institute of Development Studies, Lucknow
Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, ICRIER, Delhi
India International Centre, Delhi
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore
Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata
Indian Institute of Public Administration, Delhi
Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangalore
Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis, Delhi
Jawaharlal Nehru University, School of International Studies, Delhi
M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai
National Council of Applied Economic Research, Delhi
National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore
National Law School of India University, Bangalore
Research & Information for the Non Aligned & Other Developing Countries, Delhi
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Delhi + Mumbai
Centre for Development Economics, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University
Xavier Labour Relations Institute, Jamshedpur

LIST OF NOMINATED EU THINK TANKS:

Le Centre d’Etudes des Relations Internationales et Stratégiques, Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium)
Estudios de Politica Exterior, Madrid (Spain)
Fundacio CIDOB, Barcelona (Spain)
Austrian Institute for International Affairs, Vienna (Austria)
Institute for International Law and International Relations, University of Vienna (Austria)
Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen (Denmark)
Roskilde University Centre, Roskilde (Denmark)
Department of Political Science and International Relations Jean Monnet, University of Tampere (Finland)
Department of Strategic and Defence Studies, Finnish National Defence College, Helsinki (Finland)
Institute of Development Studies (IDS) University of Helsinki (Finland)
Centre des Sciences Humaines, New Delhi (France)
CERI, Centre d’Etudes des Relations Internationales, Paris (France)
Institut für Asienkunde, Hamburg (Germany)
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Berlin (Germany)
Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (Greece)
Institute for Economic and Industrial Research (Greece)
Front Line, Dublin (Ireland)
Dublin Centre for Asian Studies, University College Dublin (Ireland)
CESPI, Centro Studi Problemi Internazionali, Sesto S.G. (MI) (Italy)
IAI – Istituto Affari Internazionali, Rome (Italy)
Interkerkeeklijk Vredesberaad, The Hague (Netherlands)
Centre for Asian Studies, University of Amsterdam (Netherlands)
ECCP, European Centre for Conflict Prevention, Utrecht (Netherlands)
Fundação Oriente, Lisbon (Portugal)
Instituto de Estudos Estrategicos e Internacionais, Lisbon (Portugal)
SASNET, Swedish South Asian Studies Network International Office, Lund (Sweden)
Dept. of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University (Sweden)
Adam Smith Institute (UK)
Demos (UK)
Foreign Policy Centre (UK)

For detailed information on EU-India relations, please visit the web site of the Commission Delegation in New Delhi.