21 November 2023
EuDA annual conference on “Blue Economic Actors and Assets, Critical to deliver Europe’s Open Strategic Autonomy” took place on the 21st of November in Brussels, gathering representatives from the European Commission, academia, and industry. The discussion focused onthe multiple threats (COVID pandemic and subsequently the war in Ukraine) and the severe disruption of the supply chain that Europe has faced in recent years.
Addressing these challenges head-on, the conference explored proactive initiatives designed to effectively counter these issues, such as the Foreign Subsidies Regulation and the Open Global Gateway.
The discussion focused on the economic security of the EU, highlighting concerns about the gradual weakening of European leadership over the past decade, now also threatened by the relentless and determined use of unfair trade practices. Non-EU State-owned Enterprises are the flagship instruments used by some countries to fulfil their economic and geopolitical ambitions. This ‘aggressive’ use of economic power and resources to deliberately weaken and progressively eliminate competition in targeted markets is also known as hybrid warfare.
When addressing unfair trade practices, the EU deploys a strategic toolbox of differentiated but complementary trade instruments: since 2019, Europe has built new legislative instruments and equipped itself with trade tools to defend its internal market and its industries against the consequences of these practices.
In this context, the role and importance of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) and the Open Global Gateway were discussed. The FSR is designed to target the most distorting foreign subsidies in EU public procurement, aiming to create a fair and level playing field.
Meanwhile, the Global Gateway strategy serves as the EU's vehicle for investing in the enhancement of digital, transport, and energy networks, aligning with the interests of both the EU and its partner countries.