Brussels (EFE).- The European Commission presents this Tuesday an Economic Security Strategy that asks to apply “without delay” existing tools, such as the control of outgoing investments or exports; promote competitiveness in the European Union and intensify cooperation with like-minded partners to mitigate trade risks and dependencies, especially from China.
“With the increase in geopolitical tensions and a deeper global economic integration than ever, certain economic flows and activities may pose a risk to our security,” warns the draft of the strategy to which EFE has had access and which is expected to be presented today the Executive Vice Presidents of Competition and Digital, Margrethe Vestager; of Economy and Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, and the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.
And it is that the new geopolitical and technological realities demand “a change in our political approach, which preserves the vast majority of Europe’s invaluable economic links with the world and at the same time guarantees that the new risks we face, reduced but critical, are addressed effectively,” the document reads.
The good news is that “the EU is not alone in this process: countries around the world have begun to address challenges to their economic security” and Brussels advocates joining forces within (“the key to success will be to act with unity”, emphasizes) and out.
Identify risks
Identifying and analyzing risks “lucidly” is the starting point of this economic security strategy.
For the moment, four categories have been identified: those related to the resilience of supply chains, including energy security or pharmaceuticals; with the physical and cybernetic security of critical infrastructures; with technological security and technology leakage; and with the militarization of trade policies or economic coercion.
Brussels proposes to identify and assess these risks collectively with Member States and private sector stakeholders in a “dynamic and continuous” process coordinated by the High Representative, and to enhance the Single Intelligence Analysis Capacity (SIAC) to increase its ability to detect threats to the economic security of the EU.
Use the protective shield of current and future tools
Faced with certain risks, the EU already has tools to deal with them, such as a security plan for 5G/6G networks, which includes measures to restrict or exclude “high-risk providers” such as Huawei and ZTE; the control of direct foreign investment, the control of exports of dual-use or strategic technology or the law against economic coercion, but “unity” is necessary for a “bolder and faster use of existing instruments when necessary and a more assertive approach to its application”, claims the text.
And it is that the strategy urges that “they be used to their full potential” and even considers “it is necessary to go further and assess to what extent existing instruments adequately address emerging risks and, on that basis, determine what new tools should be developed” more adapted, for example, to exports or investments abroad of technologies in the fields of quantum, advanced semiconductors and artificial intelligence that may have military applications.
“The need for faster and more coordinated action at the EU level in the field of export controls has become urgent”, which is why the Commission will present a proposal in autumn to improve its “effectiveness and efficiency”.
Brussels will also explore possible measures to address security risks related to outbound investment, with a view to submitting proposals before the end of the year, which will be assisted by a new specialized group of Member State experts.
Promoting the competitiveness and growth of the EU, strengthening the single market, supporting a strong and resilient economy, and fostering the research, technological and industrial base of the community club are the actions advocated by the European Commission to strengthen this pillar of the economic security strategy.
In this section, Brussels proposes as a novelty a new Regulation to create a Strategic Technologies Platform for Europe (“STEP”) to meet the objectives of the ecological and digital transitions, and reduce or prevent dependencies.
Association
“The EU cannot achieve economic security on its own. Nor can its political response be unilateral (…) This constitutes a weighty argument in favor of cooperation with the widest possible range of partners”, affirms Brussels.
It bets that this cooperation “is flexible, and varies in form, scope and types of participants based on shared interests and common dependencies and depending on the specific political sphere or the risks identified”.
Because, ultimately, it is about the EU being “a more agile actor where necessary for greater economic security” and having “the widest possible geoeconomic toolbox”, ranging from free trade agreements trade going through digital associations, green ones, those of raw materials to reinforced cooperation with its neighboring countries.