Free trade and lasting peace are interdependent, says Asimakopoulou

As new global challenges arise and put Europe’s trade policy at risk, the only way for the bloc to strengthen its global leadership in the field of trade is to go ‘‘back to the basics’’, Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou suggested in her article for Our World magazine.

Asimakopoulou, Member of the European Parliament and Vice-Chair of the Committee on International Trade, warned that the international, rules-based multilateral system on which trade policy is based, needs to be safeguarded. To this end, Europe needs to deal with the ‘‘ABCs’’ of its trade policy, as labelled by Asimakopoulou, with ‘A’ corresponding to America, ‘B’ to Brexit and ‘C’ to China.

‘‘As the Commission, the Parliament, Member States, Civil Society, businesses and ordinary citizens face these challenges, we should not forget that the ‘ABCs’ are about ‘the basics’,’’ she underlined.

To reach Asimakopoulou’s point, would require acknowledging that there is no separation between the ‘‘economic’’ and the ‘‘geopolitical,’’ as the two terms are highly interdependent. Such a turn, she stated, is perhaps more urgent than ever.

You can read the full article on the 10th edition of Our World magazine.