Politiche e strumenti per promuovere l’autonomia strategica dell’Ue nei settori della difesa, del commercio internazionale e dell’allargamento

The objective of the project was to analyze the projection and role of the EU in the world, with a particular focus on the new policies and initiatives the Union should undertake within the new institutional cycle 2019-2024 to affirm its "strategic autonomy".

The project consisted of three thematic strands relating to defense, international trade and enlargement. The defense-related objective was a combined analysis of the current level of European ambition, identified by the EU Global Strategy (EUGS), and the tools activated to realize it, in the broader framework of transatlantic relations and the current multipolar context. In light of the evolution of global economic interactions, the international trade strand examined the current projects and initiatives of the European Commission to promote strategic autonomy in the industrial sphere, such as the diversification of international suppliers of raw materials and key intermediate goods, and the creation of pan-European value chains, with a particular emphasis on new areas of intervention, like the green and digital transitions. Finally, the enlargement strand aimed at a critical reflection on EU policies and instruments in the Western Balkans region with a view to strengthening the Union's regional strategy over the course of the current institutional cycle.

The project envisaged different types of activities. In total, four lectures and three webinars were held; a background paper, four articles and six research papers were also produced.

Funding: Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and international Cooperation; Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo