In 2021, the European Union (EU) unveiled its first common Indo-Pacific strategy, demonstrating its emphasis on the Indo-Pacific region and plans to implement cohesive strategies as an autonomous actor outside of Europe. However, the EU’s engagement in the Indo-Pacific region has yielded mixed results in terms of enabling the EU’s exercise of strategic autonomy. Overall, deliverable actions fall short of the EU’s vision of strategic autonomy. This shortcoming is attributable to three main problems: (1) the EU’s strategic capacity is weak, (2) the Indo-Pacific strategy rebrands existing initiatives, and (3) the EU and the United States emphasise different strategy and policy domains. Nevertheless, the EU has opportunities to exercise its influence in the region, owing largely to its economic clout and policy choices.