On 22 March, the HCSS, the French Institute of the Netherlands and the Dutch Embassy in Paris are pleased to invite you to a webinar to reflect on the geopolitical pressure on the agri-food sector, focusing on the strategies of France and the Netherlands, and explore response options at national and European level.
De voertaal tijdens dit evenement is Engels om een internationaal publiek te kunnen bestrijken. Daarom vindt u hieronder meer informatie in het Engels.
Presentation
France, the Netherlands and the European Union (EU) are linked to other countries through global value chains. This relationship undeniably works in our favour. Indeed, we owe much of our prosperity to a favourable business environment, cross-border capital flows, the European internal market as well as trade with third countries. A significant part of our gross domestic product comes from the export of goods and services. However, we are currently facing a worrying trend: the “weaponisation” of trade agreements, raw materials and market access. Today, dependencies are seen as a tool for geopolitical coercion, pressure and even blackmail.
What can be done in the face of this increased geopolitical pressure? How can we reduce these dependencies? Should we also turn our trade agreements and exports into coercive instruments? And what measures should we take to help build a strong EU, open to the world and protective of its interests?