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The European Union in a pincer between an 'extractive' and a 'dependency' superpower
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1028-3625
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EUI; RSC; Working Paper; 2025/35
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BERTOLDI, Moreno, BUTI, Marco, The European Union in a pincer between an ‘extractive’ and a ‘dependency’ superpower, EUI, RSC, Working Paper, 2025/35 - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/93655
Abstract
Faced with an “extractive” superpower (the United States) and a “dependency” superpower (China), which are fundamentally reshaping the world order, the European Union is caught in a pincer. To escape, it is called to respond by completing its institutional architecture, reforming its business model and equipping itself with hard power. In so doing, it has to tackle three binary choices: national versus shared sovereignty, export-led versus domestic growth, and single market integrity versus national industrial policies. The European Union remains an “incomplete” superpower. Whilst it cannot and should not aim at becoming a fully-fledged superpower, deeper integration is necessary to make the bloc more resilient and to play a constructive international role, more closely related to its potential political and economic weight. However, political feasibility is a major stumbling block to achieve these objectives.