Dombrovskis, Vice-President of the Commission, announces the suspension of efforts to ratify the investment agreement reached with China only in December. The US push is fundamental, what will happen now?
The investment agreement with China? “At this moment, in a certain sense, we have suspended the political awareness activities by the European Commission”. Word of the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis, which is in charge of trade, interviewed by the AFP on the eve of the presentation of a new regulation for subsidies and foreign investments.
In recent days Dombrovskis he had explained to Politico that the European Commission’s proposal is designed “to control and exclude foreign companies unduly subsidized by public procurement in the European Union, for example”. And he added: “The European Union is committed to strengthening ours toolbox to protect us when our global partners break the rules ”.
A clear message to China, we commented on Formiche.net also underlining that this was coupled with a previous announcement by the vice president, that of a new trade policy that includes a strong commitment against forced labor.
Now, of the two, one. Or was the advent of Joe Biden at the White House and the newfound transatlantic harmony to convince the European Commission to freeze the agreement that only in December (when there was still Donald Trump), after 7 years of negotiations, was heralded with great satisfaction by Brussels but also Berlin and Paris. Or the executive is running for cover. The voices against the European Parliament are far more than those in favor and so the Commission may be trying to patch up the skeptics, whose doubts start with vague formulations (“continued and sustained efforts, on their own initiative” ) about China’s commitment to make forced labor illegal and continue with the stakes set by Beijing on European investments that know little about reciprocity.