Shielding EU economic security by strengthening competitiveness and EU businesses

With geopolitical tensions rising and global economic ties and dependencies posing an array of severe risks to open economies, Europe needs to address its economic security. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) welcomes the proposal put forward by the Commission for a European Economic Security Strategy. However, the EESC underlines that the EU needs to strengthen its competitiveness, ensuring a well-functioning, more complete single market. At the same time, the Committee calls for EU businesses and other relevant civil society players to be involved in further developing and implementing this strategy.

In an opinion adopted at its February plenary session, based on the Commission’s communication on addressing economic security measures, the EESC believes that a comprehensive assessment of the EU’s strengths and of the opportunities that global challenges present should be taken into consideration.

EESC member Milena Angelova, rapporteur for the opinion, said: The EU needs to strengthen its competitiveness by forging international partnerships with like-minded countries and ensuring a well-functioning single market, including by completing the Capital Markets Union and the Banking Union.

In particular, the EESC emphasises that the EU is still lagging behind its main rivals in this area and needs to remove existing obstacles and refrain from taking any new measures jeopardising access to private finance. The EU also needs to ensure adequate public funding, giving priority to investment in infrastructure, research and innovation, and education and training.

Another point of paramount importance emphasised in the opinion is that EU policymakers should enhance conditions that encourage and support EU businesses, including MSMEs, and ensure that policy measures do not create disproportionate costs or hindrances for them. Therefore, it is vital to involve EU businesses closely in identifying and assessing economic security risks, opportunities and measures.

That is why the EESC calls for EU businesses and other relevant civil society players to be involved in further developing and implementing the economic security strategy. Moreover, the EESC highlights the need to strengthen synergies between Member States and create benefits throughout the EU, thus contributing to the unity, global strength and overall economic security of the EU.

The EESC believes that, through international cooperation, the EU can not only reduce confrontation and its own dependencies, but can also increase mutual benefits and the commitment of other economies to partnerships with the EU. Strengthening multilateral and, where appropriate, plurilateral cooperation through international fora and organisations would counterbalance the ongoing trend towards fragmentation of the global economy and markets.

The EESC is in favour of boosting rules-based multilateral trade systems and global agreements, bilateral and multilateral thematic partnerships, and partnerships with developing countries. According to the Committee, this should be among the EU’s priorities.