New frontiers for social Europe:
Europe’s open strategic autonomy

Joint ETUI-GEJ webinar 29 November 2021, 13h30-14h30 CET

The Covid-19 pandemic revealed in a painful way how very dependent the EU is from external industries and how easily supply chains can get disrupted and impact the manufacturing of critical goods and products. It is in this context, and supported by the ambition of the new Commission to become a geopolitical actor, that the notion of (open) strategic autonomy has become the EU’s new catchphrase at all levels of EU political discourse. However, it remains unclear how this concept will be implemented. However, due to this ambiguity, it might provide a window of opportunity for social actors to improve social and environmental standards globally. Trade unions could play an important role in this process and need to be part of the discussion.

At this ETUI event, organised in cooperation with the Green European Journal, three speakers will present and discuss their ideas on open strategic autonomy. Éric Van den Abeele will review the recent emergence on the European scene of the concept of open strategic autonomy and the consequences it may have for EU industrial policy. Mehtap Akgüç will explain how the concept can be understood in broader terms, beyond the geopolitical, technological and economic domains to incorporate socioeconomic and environmental considerations. And finally, Lucile Schmid will talk about the European Green Deal as a new geopolitical project for Europe.

On the day of the event, the Green European Journal is launching a special issue covering this topic and the new geopolitical context and shifting patterns of globalisation in general. If you would like to receive a free copy of this print edition, fill in the form here.

Speakers:
Éric Van den Abeele, ETUI Associate Researcher
Mehtap Akgüç, ETUI Senior researcher
Lucile Schmid, Co-president of Fabrique écologique

Moderator: Philippe Pochet, ETUI General Director

To register, please click here.