The European Commission has rightly identified a number of risks to the EU's economic security, from supply chain dependency to economic coercion. However, they are symptoms of a deeper geo-economic instability, and one of the main reasons why the Commission's "risk-free" approach fails to address the great power competition for techno-industrial leadership and its wider implications for European security.
Technical thinking...
The European Union should analyze this geo-economic issue and develop tools to better coordinate the defense of European security. Should:
- Race for technology and industry leadership
China's desire to become a technological superpower and the determination of the United States to resist it will fundamentally transform the global economy and threaten European security. The EU and member states must stop separating economic security concerns from national security concerns. Instead, they must work together to determine how the loss of key assets and technology will affect European security.
- Get a critical technology edge in industries important to the future
The EU and Member States should identify areas where they have a significant technological advantage in terms of research, innovation and manufacturing capacity. The EU should then organize technology, trade and security policy instruments to maintain this advantage. For example, it should link incentive instruments such as research funding and state aid to specific advanced technology goals. It should also aim to achieve a new consensus on export controls that would give member states more flexibility to introduce coordinated restrictions when the risk of losing a key technological advantage is high.
- Foundation of the Economic Intelligence Syndicate
Improved knowledge of industry and supply chain enables greater bargaining power in techno-industry competition. The EU's ability to strengthen economic security will depend on sharing this information, which the EU and member states collect through various tools. It requires great trust and strong management. Creating an EU framework in which a limited but gradual exchange of industrial information can take place would significantly increase the EU's geo-economic power.
... for a new era
The current geo-economic restructuring, rapidly shifting the keys to power in the global economy, poses a particular threat to Europe's economic security. Technological interdependence will continue To maintain economic security, the European Union must position itself as a key player in tomorrow's technological networks. On the one hand the division of the EU into trading instruments regulated by the European Commission; And security equipment controlled by member states gives less importance to technological and industrial competition, where economic security and national security are increasingly two sides of the same coin.
The European Council does not take a common position on external relations. ECFR publications reflect only the views of their individual authors.
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