Trade Policy Day in the International Trade Committee of the European Parliament
Europe is in an important moment of introspection. The public health emergency did not necessarily bring new elements to the table; rather it has only accentuated changes that were already in motion, while concomitantly exposing important vulnerabilities of EU trade policy. The Trade Policy Review is a stocktaking exercise, based on lessons learned over the …
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Local authorities have a key role to play in implementing the EU Digital Education Action Plan
The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we learn, work and spend our free time. Of all the changes that the pandemic brings to society, moving education to the virtual environment has the deepest implications. Children and youth are affected at a decisive age in their upbringing, and as such, the digital transformation of education …
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We expect non-discrimination and openness from Beijing
“The EU cannot be a partner in a traditional sense with a country whose leaders disregard international obligations and exploit pandemics. Systemic rivalry has become the overriding paradigm in our relationship. We expect China to deliver on its own commitments. Selective application of the international rules-based order is unacceptable. We expect non-discrimination and openness from …
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The EU-China Agreement on Geographical Indications, an important step in the bilateral relationship
On 6 November 2019, the negotiations on a Geographical Indications (GIs) Agreement between the EU and China were concluded in Beijing, 9 years after the negotiations were launched. On 20 July 2020, the Council adopted the decision on the signing of the above agreement. In accordance with Article 218(6) TFEU, the consent of the EP …
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EU-India Post-Crisis Strategic Partnership and Cooperation
The EU and India are important strategic partners. India is the 10th trading partner of the EU, after the U.S., China, the UK, Switzerland and Norway, among others; yet, it is the second most populous country on Earth, with a huge market of more than 1.35bn people. From the top 10 trading partners of the …
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Iuliu Winkler’s contribution to Critical Raw Materials in Industrial & Trade Policy
I will start the presentation by highlighting some of the consequences of the COVID crisis. This remains important for setting the scene here. The crisis has shown certain systemic limitations of the EU Trade Policy. I refer now to supply chain dependencies and pertinent discussions on the resilience of strategic sectors, given the vulnerabilities of …
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EU-China relations and the impact of COVID-19
The EU-China relationship is witnessing high degrees of complexity in a world that is increasingly arriving in an era of strategic competition among the great actors of the international system. The SARS-CoV-2/COVID19 pandemic has catalyzed an important moment of introspection and a rethinking of priorities, triggering a review of international politics. This has impacted on …
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The Impact of COVID-19 on International Trade
The COVID-19 Crisis mostly accelerated certain trends, as some of these were already present at earlier stages. Firstly, international actors were already more inward looking and economic nationalism has been on the rise in the last couple of years. Secondly, there has been a stronger role of government in the economy, as we have witnessed …
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Is 2020 the “China Year” for the EU?
EU-China relations are a very timely and indeed strategic conversation, since our relation with China is a strategic one. If we look back a little bit to 2019, we can remember that we had some visions about 2020, which will be the “China Year” for the European Union. As you remember we had an important …
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