مجلة الاقتصاد والتنمية المستدامة
Volume 9, Numéro 2, Pages 07-41
2026-09-01
European Economic Diplomacy Facing Contemporary Geopolitical Crises: Between Strategic Autonomy, Competitiveness, And The Transition Toward Sustainable Development
Authors : Benhamida Hichem . Benaissa Abderrahmane . Tabea Hirzel .
Abstract
The return of war to the European continent, the energy shock triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the widening trade deficit with China have forced the European Union to rethink the instruments of its economic diplomacy. This article asks how EU economic diplomacy is adapting to the combined geopolitical, economic, and environmental conjuncture while reconciling strategic autonomy, international competitiveness, and sustainable development. Building on the theoretical contributions of Keohane and Nye on complex interdependence, Rodrik’s globalization trilemma, Porter’s competitive advantage of nations, and Stiglitz’s critique of asymmetric globalization, the study develops a qualitative, document-based comparative analysis of four policy instruments adopted between 2022 and 2026: REPowerEU, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), Global Gateway, and the broader “open strategic autonomy” doctrine embedded in the Competitiveness Compass and the Clean Industrial Act. Evidence is drawn from Eurostat trade statistics, European Commission communications, IMF World Economic Outlook data, World Bank trade monitoring reports, OECD economic outlooks, and WTO trade statistics covering 2022 through mid-2026. The analysis shows that the EU has shifted from a primarily normative and market-based diplomacy toward a more defensive, security-conscious posture, yet this shift remains constrained by internal contradictions: CBAM advances climate objectives while straining relations with developing-country exporters; Global Gateway pursues geopolitical positioning more than partner-country development needs; and ReArm Europe diverts fiscal space away from the green transition at the exact moment energy security requires accelerated investment. The findings suggest that European economic diplomacy increasingly resembles defensive mercantilism wrapped in sustainability language, a configuration that creates real but partial autonomy rather than the comprehensive sovereignty the EU’s own communications claim to pursue. The article proposes a differentiated typology of crisis response and offers policy recommendations addressing the sequencing of defense, energy, and climate spending under tightening fiscal constraints.
Keywords
European economic diplomacy ; open strategic autonomy ; geoeconomic fragmentation ; Global Gateway ; sustainable competitiveness ; international political economy
Les articles similaires
بوسالم أحلام
.
عابد يوسف
.
ص 117-132.
Yahia Zeghoudi
.
pages 74-88.
Lamairia Noureddine
.
Debbouche Abdelkader
.
pages 253-266.
Bensaadoune Liamine
.
pages 467-481.
Said Houari Amel
.
pages 257-268.
