歐盟反中的霸凌

【縛雞之見】
面對中國對小國與個別企業的霸凌，德國與法國都站出來了。

立陶宛遭霸凌 法國擬提前修理中國    三立 20220107

立陶宛與中國的關係因台灣問題不斷惡化，中國經濟報復的行為引發關注，歐盟在去年底提出「反脅迫工具」法案（Anti-Coercion Instrument），目的在保護聯盟及成員國免受第三國經濟脅迫，不過新的立法可能需要數年才能完全生效，而甫接任歐盟輪值主席國的法國據傳將提前採取行動制裁中國，以在貿易戰中力挺立陶宛。

歐盟在去年12月8日公布「反脅迫工具」法案（Anti-Coercion Instrument），內容包含實施關稅和配額、限制相關國家貨品進口和投資、禁止採購歐盟出口管制的商品等12項措施，協助成員國對抗第三方國家經濟脅迫的行為。

據《POLITICO》報導，一名法國官員透露，巴黎當局將很快採取措施抵制北京，「反脅迫工具法案仍在談判中，但也許可以提前做一些事情來支持立陶宛。」

自去年5月立陶宛宣布退出中國與中歐及東歐國家的「17+1」合作機制，以及11月允許台灣以「台灣」為名設立代表處（The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania）之後，中立兩國關係愈趨緊張。該位不願具名的法國官員表示，「目前尚不清楚中國對立陶宛採取這種行為的決定性原因是什麼，可能是台灣問題，但也有立陶宛退出中國發起的17+1機制的事實。」

美國國務卿布林肯（Antony Blinken）本月5日與德國外長貝爾伯克（Annalena Baerbock）會面時提及中國脅迫立陶宛一事，包含中國要歐洲和美國企業停止使用立陶宛製造的零件或產品，他強調這是德美兩國當前最關切的議題，「這不只攸關立陶宛，也關係到世界上各國都應要能在不受此類脅迫下，決定自身外交政策。美國將與包括德國在內的盟友和夥伴合作，對抗這種恐嚇。」貝爾伯克也說，「作為歐洲人，我們與立陶宛站在一起。」

 

 

EU strengthens protection against economic coercion    EU 20211208

The European Commission has today proposed a new tool to counter the use of economic coercion by third countries.  This legal instrument is in response to the EU and its Member States becoming the target of deliberate economic pressure in recent years.  It strengthens the EU's toolbox and will allow the EU to better defend itself on the global stage.

The aim is to deter countries from restricting or threatening to restrict trade or investment to bring about a change of policy in the EU in areas such as climate change, taxation or food safety.  The anti-coercion instrument is designed to de-escalate and induce discontinuation of specific coercive measures through dialogue as a first step.  Any countermeasures taken by the EU would be applied only as a last resort when there is no other way to address economic intimidation, which can take many forms.  These range from countries using explicit coercion and trade defence tools against the EU, to selective border or food safety checks on goods from a given EU country, to boycotts of goods of certain origin.  The aim is to preserve the EU and the Member States' legitimate right to make policy choices and decisions and prevent serious interference in the sovereignty of the EU or its Member States.

Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis said: “At a time of rising geopolitical tensions, trade is increasingly being weaponised and the EU and its Member States becoming targets of economic intimidation. We need the proper tools to respond. With this proposal we are sending a clear message that the EU will stand firm in defending its interests. The main aim of the anti-coercion tool is to act as a deterrent. But we now also have more tools at our disposal when pushed to act. This instrument will allow us to respond to the geopolitical challenges of the coming decades, keeping Europe strong and agile.”

With this new instrument, the EU will be able to respond to cases of economic coercion in a structured and uniform manner.  A dedicated legislative framework ensures predictability and transparency; it underlines the EU's adherence to a rules-based approach, also internationally.

The EU will engage directly with the country concerned to stop the economic intimidation.  If the economic intimidation does not stop immediately, the new instrument will allow the EU to react swiftly and effectively, providing a tailor-made and proportional response for each situation from imposing tariffs and restricting imports from the country in question, to restrictions on services or investment or steps to limit the country's access to the EU's internal market.

Background

The Commission's proposal follows requests from the European Parliament and a number of Member States.  This was acknowledged in a joint declaration of the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament on an instrument to deter and counteract coercive actions by third countries issued on 2 February.  It was developed after an in-depth public consultation at EU level (including an impact assessment) in which stakeholders - especially businesses, industry associations and think-tanks - broadly signalled the problem of economic intimidation and coercion against EU interests and supported an EU-level deterring instrument.

Next steps

The proposal now needs to be discussed and agreed by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.  It will be considered under the Ordinary Legislative Procedure, whereby the Parliament and Council will internally develop their positions before negotiating with each other in Trilogue discussions with the assistance of the Commission.  In the next two months, stakeholders and citizens may provide further feedback, on which the Commission will report to the Council and Parliament.

For More Information

Questions and Answers

Commission proposal for an Anti-Coercion Instrument

Annexes to the Commission Proposal for an Anti-Coercion Instrument *

Commission Communication to the European Parliament and the European Council on the Commission's proposal for an anti-coercion instrument

Anti-Coercion Instrument process explainer

Impact Assessment Report

Impact Assessment Report - Executive Summary

Regulatory Scrutiny Board Opinion

DG TRADE anti-coercion website

Stakeholder feedback following adoption

European Parliament legislation tracking page

Joint declaration of the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament on an instrument to deter and counteract coercive actions by third countries