On December 3rd, the European Commission and the High Representative presented a Joint Communication on strengthening Economic Security. The Communication seeks to balance the need for strengthening the EU’s and resilience in a time of mounting external economic threats with remaining open for international trade and investment.
The Communication includes reference to the need for new FDI screening guidelines, as well as the prioritisation of funding for projects that work on reducing EU dependencies. At the same time, the Commission will enhance its capacities with respect to risk assessment and information gathering, in cooperation with Member States and stakeholders. The document also suggests leveraging EU funding tools such as the Global Gateway, Horizon Europe and CEF to enhance EU Economic Security. Furthermore, the upcoming EU Port Strategy features among the Commission’s list of tools.
Furthermore, the document highlights the importance of investing in a vibrant domestic base in the defence sector as well as strategic dual-use sectors such as transport, shipbuilding and ports.
The Communication singles out the energy sector as an example of a sector at risk as non-EU investors of EU companies could get access to advanced technologies for monitoring and processing operational data from critical energy infrastructure. NIS 2 will form a crucial part of the Commission’s toolbox alongside with measures assessing the potential role of foreign subsidies in giving a competitive advantage to certain suppliers. The document additionally underlines the need of assessing risks related to presence of high-risk third countries and operators in the EU’s critical infrastructure with a view to gaining the capacity to disrupt these infrastructures. One means to mitigate these risks will be by limiting ownership/control/operation by high-risk entities of European critical infrastructures.
Among the key actions to bolster economic security will be the establishment of a trusted advisor group drawn from EU business representatives to provide counsel on specific risks and mitigation strategies. In addition, guidelines will be developed to ensure uniform implementation of the FDI Screening Regulation in order to ensure national authorities approach screening consistently.
