EU Bodies Strike Deal on Anti-Coercion Instrument
The European Council, Parliament and Commission struck a deal March 28 on an anti-coercion instrument that will look to shield the EU and its member states from economic coercion by third countries (see 2208160034 and 2211170015). The agreement outlines "principles to be adopted into legislation," which will be ironed out during a "final political trialogue" at "a later date," the commission said.
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The agreement covers various "decision-making arrangements," the commission said, including "the Council’s role in determining" whether the EU or a member country has been targeted by economic coercion. The deal also includes a list of possible countermeasures the EU can impose and strikes a "balance around other significant outstanding elements," the commission said, including pursuing reparations for injury caused by the economic coercion, time frames for the EU countermeasures under the instrument and "overall institutional balance."
"Progress on the Anti-Coercion Instrument is key to reinforce our trade agenda, giving the EU the tools to preserve open trade and address risks in a targeted way," EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said, adding that he's "looking forward to sealing the deal at the final trialogue, so we can have this instrument in place as quickly as possible." After the text is finalized, the European Parliament and the Council must adopt the new regulation before it takes effect.
European Parliament Member Bernd Lange called the deal a "major breakthrough." The agreement is a "comprehensive and strong package to defend economic interests in the event of attempts to give political pressure through trade and investment measures," Lange said in a tweet.