The Rise of European Protectionism

The paper presents findings of a study developed as a part of the research project “Serbia and challenges in international relations in 2021”, financed by the Ministry of Science, and Technological of the Republic of Serbia, and conducted by Institute of International Politics and Economics, Belgrade. Abstract : This article analyses the rise of the European Union protectionism in the field of international trade, foreign investment, and global production chains. The scope, forms and dynamics of restrictive measures in each of these three segments of modern global economic connectivity are investigated. Although far from the concept of the free market, some protective measures have an explanation in emergency situations such as the World Financial Crisis and the disturbances due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In contrast, protectionism in the field of foreign direct investment, shaped by the newly introduced screening mechanism in the European Union, has a clear discriminatory character. It is similar to several packages of politically motivated restrictive trade measures. The documents of the European Commission, which prescribe the stated protectionist measures, lead to the conclusion that the EU is implementing a bloc division, that is, to protect its economies from the global environment, rather than to integrate into it.