Anti-coercion: New EU ‘language of power’ raises governance questions

The European Commission tabled a long-awaited ‘anti-coercion’ instrument for the Council and European Parliament to assess and adopt. The unprecedented EU move is welcomed in foreign policy expert circles yet raises a range of new questions for the EU’s institutional setup and the global trading system.

The regulatory proposal aims at “protection of the [EU] and its Member States from economic coercion by third countries”. “This is a signal to our partners that the EU will stand firm in defending itself. The tool is first and foremost a deterrent,” said executive European Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis. “We will not accept intimidation tactics that will affect our key policies”. The regulation as designed by the Commission aims to give itself leeway to respond to economic coercion. It applies when a third country “interferes in the legitimate sovereign choices of the Union or a Member State by seeking to prevent or obtain the cessation, modification or adoption of a particular act by the Union or a Member State – by applying or threatening to apply measures affecting trade or investment”. [...]

The European Parliament’s international trade committee chair Bernd Lange welcomed the new regulation but also considers that the draft would require adaptations. “We need a comprehensive definition of coercive practices and a swift procedure to determine whether a measure in question is in fact coercive.” [...]