Lecture
From Free Trade to Economic Security, a Paradigm Shift?
- Mr. Denis Redonnet, Deputy Director-General, European Commission, DG Trade and Economic Security
- Date
- Thursday 6 March 2025
- Time
- Location
- Wijnhaven Building
Turfmarkt 99
2311 DP The Hague - Room
- 3.60
Europe: Balancing between Trade Wars and Economic Security
Against a backdrop of new tariffs, trade wars and an unpredictable trade policy under the new Trump presidency, the European Union and its Member States have to navigate an increasingly challenging geo-economic landscape. While free trade was the credo during much of past century, multilateralism is under pressure. The World Trade Organization, whose dispute settlement system is currently dysfunctional, is no longer an effective forum to resolve trade disputes between countries.
But trade wars are only one piece in a complex puzzle and the European Union has to constantly balance between free trade, competitiveness and economic security: as the Draghi Report pointed out in 2024, the EU must double down on supporting its strategic sectors such as critical technology, raw material, defence and energy, while taking into account its economic security in a more geopolitical and multipolar world of vulnerable supply chains. For this reason, the EU has also developed a new European Economic Security Strategy. The Strategy proposes to carry out a thorough assessment of risks to economic security in four areas:
- risks to the resilience of supply chains, including energy security;
- risks to physical and cyber security of critical infrastructure;
- risks related to technology security and technology leakage;
- risks of weaponisation of economic dependencies or economic coercion
How does Europe walk the tightrope between free trade, competitiveness and economic security, while taking into account larger challenges such as climate change mitigation?
Together with European Commission Directorate General for Trade and Economic Security, the European Commission Representation in the Netherlands and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs we are honoured to organise this unique and very timely public lecture, where Mr. Redonnet will reflect and engage with the audience on the trade challenges the EU and its Member States are facing in a rapidly changing world. The lecture is aimed at students, academic staff, civil society, including interested stakeholders in international trade and economic security. Please note that registration for this event is required (see link below).
Moderator
Dr. Anna Marhold (Leiden University, Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies)
About Mr Denis Redonnet
Mr. Denis Redonnet was appointed the Depute Director General and Chief Trade Enforcement Officer of the Directorate General for International Trade and Economic Security in 2020, a position created under Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Mr. Redonnet is an economist by training, and started his career as a corporate banker for a French bank in the city of London. Since 1995 he has been a career European Commission official, having held positions in the monetary, international economic affairs and internal market directorate generals of the EU Executive.
He served as advisor to EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and a Deputy chief of staff to EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson. Afterwards he headed the WTO division and then the Strategy division in the Directorate General for Trade in the European Commission. Between 2015 and 2020 he acted as Director for “WTO, Legal Affairs and Trade in Goods” in the Directorate General for Trade in the European Commission.
Registration
Please register via the registrationlink if you wish to attend this event.