The EU Inclusive Open Strategic Autonomy Centre (EU-IOSAC) is a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence financed by the European Commission at the LUISS Institute for European Analysis and Policy (LEAP). The EU-IOSAC intends to be a European hub for cutting-edge research, teaching, and policy analysis to manage the policy trade-off that the EU is currently facing.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have prompted a discussion on the vulnerability of global value chains and the necessity of safeguarding European strategic autonomy within the new geopolitical landscape. The concept of strategic autonomy initially surfaced in the context of shared European foreign and security policies (European Council, 2013; European Union Global Strategy, 2016 ), particularly during the period marked by political tensions arising from Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the protectionist measures implemented by the Trump Administration in 2016 that led to a tariff war with China.

Against this backdrop, the EU’s position seems particularly precarious, caught between a more protectionist and interventionist US and the rising technological power of China and other Asian countries. Especially concerning the green and digital transition (also referred to as the twin transition), Europe finds itself struggling to strike the right balance between fostering the emergence of green and digital industries and protecting its autonomy in the sphere of critical raw materials, while maintaining an open attitude towards its external partners.

This workshop analyses these issues in two separate, albeit related, sessions. The first part of the event will delve into the changes in GVC structure, with a focus on Europe and its relationship with technology. The second part will focus on critical raw materials and the EU’s strategic autonomy.

9:15 - 9:45 Registration and coffee break

9:45 - 10:00 Welcome of Participants and Opening Remarks

Valentina Meliciani (Luiss Institute for European Analysis and Policy)

10:00 - 13:00 The changing structure of Global Value Chains

• Chair : Prof. Anna Giunta (Roma Tre University and Centro Rossi Doria)

• Keynote: Quantitative scenario analysis for a world economy dominated by GVCs

Bart Los – University of Groningen

• Q&A

Presentations:

Nearshoring, global value chains’ structure, volatility and output growth
Bontadini F., Meliciani, V., Savona, M. and Wirkierman, A.

Digital transformation and the regionalization of GVC in European Industries
Giunta A., Marvasi, E. and Sforza, M.

Robots and global value chains
Antonietti R., Franco C., and Burlina, C.

13:00-14:00 Lunch Break

14:30-14:45 Institutional Remarks
Stefano Manzocchi, Deputy Rector for Research, Luiss Guido Carli

14:45-16:15 Critical raw materials and open strategic autonomy

• Chair : Prof. Eleonora Pierucci (Roma Tre University)

Presentations:

Critical Raw Materials and MNE Strategies under Paradigm Shift
Li, G. Y., Ascani, A. and Iammarino, S.

Mapping Critical Raw Materials in Green Technologies
de Cunzo, F., Consoli, D., Perruchas, F., and Sbardella, A.

Greening Industrial Ecosystems and the New Competition: Varieties of Policies and
Pathways in Europe.
Andreoni, A.

16:15-16:30 Coffee Break

16:30-18:00 Round table on “How to make open strategic autonomy inclusive?”

• Chair : Prof. Maria Savona (Luiss University and SPRU – University of Sussex)

• Policy address: Paolo Pasimeni – DG GROW

• Paolo Pasimeni (EU DG-GROW), Andrea Montanino (Cassa Depositi e Prestiti), Anabel Marin (Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex), Roberta Piermartini (World Trade Organization), Paolo Guerrieri (Luiss Institute for European Analysis and Policy)

See the full program to register

Presentation slides:

Paolo Pasimeni

Anna Giunta, Enrico Marvasi, Marco Sforza

George Yunxiong Li, Andrea Ascani, Simona Iammarino

Roberto Antonietti, Chiara Burlina, Chiara Franco

Ariel Wirkierman

Roberta Piermartini

Bart Los