The European Council Experts’ Debrief is our series of policy responses to the regularly published conclusions of the European Council. Each time the European Council meets for a summit, TEPSA gathers its leading academics to comment on the conclusions, analyse alliances formed, maintained, and broken, investigate policy implications, and suggest solutions to move Europe forward.
This debrief is the first one in a new format, focusing on just one of the major themes discussed at the European Council meeting.
In this sixth edition of the Debrief, our experts focus on the implications of the February European Council conclusions as regards Europe’s global economic position. TEPSA Secretary-General Jim Cloos asked authors to respond to the question “Faced with industrial policies in other parts of the world, what should the European Union do to maintain a competitive green economy, without ruining public budgets or rupturing the single market?“. The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the United States has been a focus of controversy of late, with many European onlookers interpreting the Act as a protectionist move by the Biden administration which risks hindering relations across the Atlantic at a time where global cooperation, not least in the context of crises such as the war in Ukraine and the climate emergency, is much needed. Others, meanwhile, have indeed praised the IRA’s green credentials. What should be the EU’s position at this time? What influence does it hold on the world stage as a trade superpower? How can the EU’s position as a global power be increase and/or consolidated? These questions and many more are tackled in this new edition of the European Council Experts’ Debrief.
In addition to the foreword by TEPSA Secretary-General Jim Cloos, expert contributors to this edition include:
- Salih Bora, Sciences Po Paris;
- Michele Chang, College of Europe;
- Béatrice Dumont, College of Europe & Sorbonne Paris University;
- Enrique Feás, Elcano Royal Institute;
- Marko Lovec, Centre of International Relations, University of Ljubljana;
- Nathan McGhie, Latvian Institute of International Affairs (LIIA);
- Stormy-Annika Mildner, Aspen Institute & Hertie School Berlin;
- Miguel Otero Iglesias, Elcano Royal Institute;
- François Roux, Egmont Institute;
- Claudia Schmucker, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP);
- Daniel Šitera, Institute of International Relations Prague (IIR);
- Federico Steinberg, Elcano Royal Institute;
- Wolfgang Wessels, University of Cologne.
READ THE DEBRIEF HERE
Cover Picture: © European Union