10 January 2014 – EPC launches its “Europe’s Economic Security Project”

The EPC launched its Europe’s Economic Security Project on 10 January 2024 with the conference “European Competitiveness and Economic Security: Towards a New Strategic Agenda”, featuring a keynote from Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market.

In a world increasingly subject to shocks and conflicts, the European Union is compelled to anchor the upcoming 2024-2029 Strategic Agenda more markedly on economic resilience and security.

The conference took stock of the von der Leyen Commission’s response to crises and recent demands for greater security and competitiveness. Breton emphasized in his speech “A Europe that protects its citizens, transforms its economy, and projects itself as a global power” that “de-risking our economy is a precondition to any competitiveness agenda”. The COVID-19 pandemic, strained supply chains, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis have severely tested Europe’s resilience and uncovered significant dependencies and vulnerabilities. The escalating US-China rivalry, coupled with the erosion of the WTO system, foreshadows further challenges ahead.

While some countries are starting to take a more protectionist stance, the EU should be wary of turning inwards. As one of the most outward-oriented economies in the world, the European Union needs to remain an open continent, while successfully addressing risks and rebalancing its international relationships. Breton highlighted that this recalibration should be conducted “on our terms”, while Martin Sandbu, European economics commentator for the Financial Times, argued that “less globalisation does not necessarily mean less openness”.

Pawel Swieboda and Georg Riekeles, Senior Visiting Fellow and Associate Director at the EPC, provided a preview of their framing paper "Europe’s make-or-break moment: Putting economic security at the heart of the EU’s 2024-2029 strategic agenda". They argue that the EU has entered a third period in its economic history where the requirements of security and resilience must be built into the growth and competitiveness agenda, not as an afterthought, but from the start. Their paper proposes 18 recommendations for the coming Strategic Agenda across an economic security policy matrix consisting of 4 Ps – Prepare, Promote, Protect, Partner. As an example of the need for the EU to be on the front foot in meeting today’s transitionary challenges, the EIB’s Chief Economist, Debora Revoltella, presented the EIB-EPC joint report “Hidden champions, missed opportunities: Mid-caps’ crucial roles in Europe’s economic transition”.

A significant takeaway from the conference remained EPC Chief Executive Fabian Zuleeg’s introductory words: “Economic Security is only one of the deep transitions that the EU will need to go through in the coming years”. Addressing the trade-offs involved will require much more of the EU’s political leadership than what we are currently seeing.

Quotes from the session:

• “We need to continue to promote Europe as a third bloc, a balancing force between the US and China” - Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market
• "There is pressure towards a regionalisation of the global economy: North America, Europe, China. Other countries may have to start choosing between blocks.” Martin Sandbu, Financial Times European Economics Commentator
• “We need to prepare for unknown interdependences. Foreign dependences can endanger the digitalisation of the health care sector with wearables and medical devices heavily dependent on data.” Elizabeth Kuiper, EPC Associate Director