Charting Belgium’s Economic Security – a complex country in a complex world
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Economic Security is mentioned as one of the four pillars of the Belgian National Security Strategy (NSS). Ever since the inception of the NSS, the geoeconomic arena has been turbulent – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the consequential sanction regime against Russia, supply chain fragmentation, rising US-China tensions, the resurgence of economic nationalism, among other evolutions and events have irreversibly shaken up the world economy. With the European Commission having shared its proposal for a Strategy for Economic Security, a thorough review on why and how Belgium can contribute to this debate and provide sustainable solutions that strike the right balance between prosperity and resilience imposes itself.
This Egmont paper addresses key aspects of Belgium’s national economic security. It begins by defining the scope and terminology of economic security, followed by an analysis of global challenges to Belgium’s national economic security. Then the essential tools and instruments within the economic security ‘toolkit’ will be detailed. Lastly, Belgium’s unique position in the European economic security architecture will be explored, considering its federal structure with divided competencies among regions. This comprehensive analysis aims to provide insights and policy recommendations for safeguarding Belgium’s economic security interests.
(Photo credit: Jan Paulussen, Pixabay)