After decades of globalization that has proceeded, if not swimmingly, then at least without major disruption, a series of crises have recently upset the apple cart: the Covid pandemic, war in Ukraine, the Israel-Palestine conflict, China-US tensions etc. In this drastically changed context, European states have felt the limitations of their external dependency in a number of areas (medicines, technology, minerals, cereals etc.) and have taken a series of political measures aimed at recovering a degree of their sovereignty, particularly in certain ‘strategic’ sectors. The publication of this issue of Futuribles coincides with a new Commission taking over at the head of the European Union. What can we say at this point about the current state of European economic security? Is there a clear, consensual doctrine on how to protect against strategic risks? How is the EU positioned towards the global leaders that are the USA and China, where strong state support is being afforded to their national companies and increasingly protective — if not, indeed, protectionist — trade regulations adopted? Would the EU be able to cope with an inflow of Chinese goods if the new American laws were to lead Beijing to redirect its trade toward the European continent?
It is these questions, crucial to Europeans’ futures, that Elvire Fabry examines in this article, showing how the EU is dealing with the situation by adopting a defensive strategy in economic and trade matters. However, attack often being the best form of defence, she urges the new European authorities to go further and deploy an offensive strategy to stimulate and protect the EU economy, taking advantage, in particular, of the pull of its Single Market.
This article is downloadable only in French. It is not available in English.
