The subject of economic security was not on the official agenda of the EU’s trade ministers on Thursday 25 May, but that did not stop some of them from raising it. The European Commission is planning to present a communication on a ‘Strategy for Economic Security’, potentially on 20 June, and the EU27 are discussing the scope of this strategy.
The Commission is considering the possibility of screening outbound investments, as well as tighter controls on exports when they involve sensitive technologies. A handful of Member States indicated on Thursday 25 May that a cautious approach to this would need to be taken. In particular, they stress the need to consult widely before proposing such measures.
Spain’s Secretary of State for Trade, Xiana Margarida Méndez Bértolo, also urged caution on this issue, when questioned by EUROPE: “Any instrument of this type that reduces the liquidity of the markets, in the area of investment, that fragments the single internal market or that puts us in a difficult situation with our trading partners must be treated with great caution and be very well defined and precise”.
The European Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, admitted that more discussions would be needed with member countries. Work on this subject is in any case “at an early stage at the moment”, he emphasised to EUROPE. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)