During the 143rd CoR Plenary Session held on 18 March 2021, the CoR Members participated in a debate on trade and recovery with Mr Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for an Economy that Works for People.
Mr Karl Vanlouwe took the floor on behalf of EA Group and highlighted the central role played by trade in the EU economy and the millions of European jobs that depend on exports from the European Union. Before the COVID-19 crisis, 35 million European jobs depended on exports and 16 million on foreign investment. In other words, one job in every seven depended on exports. This translates to 1 in 3 jobs in Flanders as export is an important lifeline of Flanders’ economy and a basic pillar of any economic relaunch.
Mr Vanlouwe said that the unity of the European Union requires us to cooperate in foreign trade – this is the leverage which we use to successfully negotiate trade agreements. "We have to face future challenges related not only to the pandemic but also due to the Union needing a stronger foothold in the world. The pandemic has clearly highlighted vulnerabilities in our supply chains that we must address in order to be better prepared for future crises. Europe needs to be self-sufficient in the supply of raw materials and the production of essential products including medicines. This needs to be a priority for a Strong Europe in the World," he underlined.
Mr Vanlouwe also highlighted the need to be "better at communicating what we are undertaking and are achieving as "the current crisis has seen communications on the 'back foot' or defensive communications."
Finally, Mr Vanlouwe addressed the topic of the Trade Agreement with the UK: "It is clear that this is a very important agreement with our biggest trading neighbour. It is hugely important to Flanders and its economy. But we need honesty and the implementation of the agreement from our trading partners. This is, unfortunately, missing at present. In saying this we hope that this will drastically improve over the coming months."
He concluded by saying that Brexit Adjustment Fund is large enough to help regions and business adjust to the added complexities of the new EU UK trade agreement, but added that the new suggestions as to the funds division penalizes Flanders, the Netherlands and Ireland which are amongst the most affected.
