The European Commission is proposing a tool to
\nenable the Union to respond when a third country attempts to blackmail a member
\nstate, to alter EU policies for their own interests, or when EU companies receive
\nunfair treatment in third markets.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The strategy does not target a particular
\ncountry, but it could be used even in case a country like Russia reduces or
\nsuspends natural gas supplies, or in a situation similar to the one currently
\nfaced by Lithuania, whose exports are now stopped at the Chinese border in
\nretaliation to Vilnius’s openness to Taiwan. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
This is an anti-coercion tool, the EU vice-president
\nValdis Dombrovskis explained. He insisted that the EU continues to support free
\nglobal trade, but that third countries do not embrace these values and pressure
\nmember states in exchange for political and economic advantages.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The EU will work directly with the state
\nconcerned, in order to put an end to economic intimidation. If the threat is not
\nimmediately ended, the new tool will enable the EU to act quickly and
\nefficiently. According to the EC
\nofficial, this is a signal to EU members that the Union will push back when
\nunder threat.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In recent years, the EU and its members have
\nbeen targets of economic intimidation, i.e. when a country tries to pressure another country
\ninto changing their policies by restricting, or threatening to restrict, trade
\nor investment, Valdis Dombrovskis explained. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Since it is a part of the EU’s trade policy, it
\ndoes not require the vote of member states. According to analysts, this is not
\nseen with friendly eyes in capitals like Budapest, known for their close ties
\nwith Beijing, which has often been accused of aggressive economic and political
\nconduct in the European market.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Under this strategy, when a third country acts
\naggressively, the Commission may resort to services or investment restrictions, exclusion
\nfrom public procurement and access to Union-funded programmes. It may also suspend macro-financial assistance to that state, and
\nsuspend any contribution or guarantee agreement with those entities or
\nindividuals having ties with a third country that uses economic blackmail
\nagainst the EU, an EU company or a member state. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The strategy consolidates the set of tools used by the EU to better protect itself
\nin the global market. Its goal is to discourage states from weaponizing trade
\nin order to effect changes in EU policies regarding climate change, taxation or
\nfood safety. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The proposal is to be
\ndiscussed and approved by the European Parliament and EU Council. (tr. A.M.
\nPopescu)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The EU will respond with countermeasures to economic blackmail against Member States<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":90561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[34777,34104,29120,40409,40410,40408],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-90560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-blackmail","tag-economic","tag-eu","tag-intimidation","tag-pressure","tag-tool"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n