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On 3 December 2025, the European Commission and the EU High Representative published their latest Joint Communication on Strengthening EU Economic Security.
This represents the latest take on the EU's desire to pivot from building an internal market and preserving free and open competition to actively strengthening economic security, first manifested in the Joint European Economic Security of June 2023, partially implemented through various initiatives that we have described before (in particular, here, here and here).
The latest Communication announces a paradigm shift from the previously announced 3 P's - promoting competitiveness, protecting against risks and partnering with those who share the same concerns - to proactive and systematic use of the EU "toolbox", including repurposing the tools for purposes for which they were not originally intended. The key words are to become improving information, monitoring and analysis to anticipate threats; deterring third countries from taking advantage of the EU's dependencies; reducing exposure to third countries that may exploit such dependencies; and prevention of efforts to undermine the EU's derisking efforts.
The priorities
The Communication provides the following summaries of some areas of concern that have been identified since the last Communication:
The Tools
In view of the current drive towards deregulation and simplification, the Communication is relatively restrained in proposing new regulatory tools but emphasises the repurposing of existing tools. A wide variety of tools are identified as forming part of the toolbox (which could rather be described as an arsenal). The non-exhaustive list provided in the Communication includes:
What may be the concrete consequences of the new definition of economic security
The Commission clearly intends to take a much more active role in developing an industrial policy and responding to geopolitical developments. A wide range of future policies and actions are announced most of which do not involve the adoption of legal instruments. For example, policies to protect economic security will be developed at international level and through the creation of an Economic Security Information Hub, the appointment of National Economic Security Advisers and other information and monitoring activities.
The most actions that seem the most immediately relevant for industrial and other economic operators would seem to be in the following areas:
Action in strategic sectors
The Communication highlights a number of specific areas in which threats have been identified and action is being taken. They include mainstream semiconductors, battery electric vehicles, components for drones, quantum computing, detection equipment at EU borders and solar inverters. This may be considered an invitation for others producing strategic inputs to ask the Commission for various kinds of assistance or policy action.
EU Funding
The Communication announces an intention to focus EU funding initiatives (whether managed by the Commission, the Member States or other partners) on activities that support EU economic security.
This will include preventing access by high-risk entities to sensitive EU supported actions. The Communication claims that Article 136 of the Financial Regulation provides a horizontal legal base to ensure this, by allowing the protection of security or public order to be taken into account in financing decisions.
The Communication announces that guidance will be published in Q1 2026 for this purpose. This will include ensuring that third-country high-risk suppliers should be prevented from accessing EU and national funding where those third countries, based on specific criteria, are identified as undermining EU economic security interests.
Inward Investment
The control of foreign direct investment is currently a matter for Member States although there is a pending proposal to strengthen the Commission's role. The Commission intends to issue guidelines to ensure consistency of action, including in strategic areas.
There are also proposals to examine ways to protect strategic startups in critical technology areas that are vulnerable to the risk of hostile foreign acquisitions, redirecting them to EU investment alternatives and other forms of support.
Trade Defence, Competition Control and Customs action
The Communication also suggests that economic security considerations will play a role in the application of trade defence measures, the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, and the administration of customs instruments.
More concretely, it is announced that the Commission will, by Q3 2026, prepare a proposal on ways of strengthening the protection of the industry from unfair trade policies and negative global market developments, such as overcapacity.
The RESourceEU action plan
A concrete example of the use of EU instruments and funding in the pursuit of economic security is provided in the RESourceEU action plan for critical raw materials published on the same day as the Communication. This describes various actions taken by the Commission in furtherance of the Critical Raw Materials Act that we have described in a previous blogpost. The actions taken include the mobilising of €3 billion for investment in critical minerals. Amendments of existing legislation, in particular to retain valuable scrap in the EU, are also announced.
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