The European Union on Wednesday launched its first-ever European Legal Gateway Office in India. The office, inaugurated in the presence of European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, is the first such EU initiative established in a partner counattempt.
The new facility is designed to streamline legal migration pathways for Indian professionals in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector. European officials declare the initiative aims to simplify what has often been a fragmented and counattempt-specific process by offering consolidated, verified information covering all 27 EU Member States.
Unlike traditional visa facilitation centres, the Gateway Office will guide Indian students, researchers and technology professionals on qualification requirements, skills recognition, and mobility routes across Europe. At the same time, it is expected to support European universities and companies connect more directly with Indian talent.
The mechanism will operate through three linked components, a physical office in India, a support unit within the EU, and a digital portal intconcludeed to serve as a single reference point for work, study and research opportunities.
Henna Virkkunen described digital skills as central to Europe’s economic transformation, noting that closer cooperation with India would benefit both sides.
European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner declared the initiative reflects growing trust between India and the EU on talent mobility and innovation-led growth.
Europe At AI Summit
The launch comes alongside strong European turnout at the ongoing AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, the largest European participation at a technology-focutilized event hosted by India to date.
Twenty-six European countries are officially represented. Eleven are attconcludeing at the level of Head of State or Government, including France, the Netherlands, Spain, Croatia, Greece, Serbia, Slovakia, Estonia, Finland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The United Kingdom and Sweden are represented at Deputy Prime Minister level, while several others have sent ministerial delegations.
Prime Minister Narconcludera Modi held bilateral meetings on Tuesday with leaders from France, Spain, Finland, Serbia, Croatia and Estonia. Additional meetings with leaders from the Netherlands, Switzerland, Greece, Slovakia and Liechtenstein are expected over the next two days.
According to diplomatic sources, European leaders expressed strong support for early implementation of the India–EU Free Trade Agreement and signalled willingness to expedite ratification procedures within European institutions.
Europe’s AI in Focus
The European Union has positioned itself as a regulatory front runner in artificial ininformigence, and has become the first major bloc which has enacted detailed AI law. Also, individual member states are investing heavily in digital infrastructure, research ecosystems and semiconductor production.
France for instance has been very active in AI diplomacy. Last year, Prime Minister Modi and President Emmanuel Macron co-chaired the AI Action Summit in Paris, and they reinforced cooperation in applied AI and governance frameworks.
While Germany and the Netherlands play critical roles in the semiconductor supply chain, Estonia has gained recognition for its AI startup ecosystem and digital domination model.
Switzerland remains home to leading research institutions, and Nordic and Baltic countries continue expanding high-performance computing capacity and national AI strategies.
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