Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
🧰 With the growing weaponisation of trade, the EU's trade defence toolbox is becoming increasingly relevant.
When non-EU companies and countries use unfair trade practices, the European Union has tools to protect its interests. What are the EU's trade defence tools?
They can be divided into two categories: the traditional trade defensive instruments, based on multilateral trade agreements, and the more recent autonomous trade instruments, most of which were enacted between 2019 and 2024. Together, these instruments can help to protect the EU's economic security and interests.
▶️ Learn more about the EU trade defence toolbox in our publication: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2025)775919
🧰 With the growing weaponisation of trade, the EU's trade defence toolbox is becoming increasingly relevant.
When non-EU companies and countries use unfair trade practices, the European Union has tools to protect its interests. What are the EU's trade defence tools?
They can be divided into two categories: the traditional trade defensive instruments, based on multilateral trade agreements, and the more recent autonomous trade instruments, most of which were enacted between 2019 and 2024. Together, these instruments can help to protect the EU's economic security and interests.
▶️ Learn more about the EU trade defence toolbox in our publication: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2025)775919
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🌡️ The world is not on track to keep the global temperature rise below 2°C. Even under the most optimistic scenarios, the temperature rise is expected to overshoot 1.5°C for a while, before falling back below 1.5°C thanks to large-scale carbon removals.
While action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and scale up carbon dioxide removal remains crucial, there is an urgent need to reinforce efforts to adapt to climate change, in order to avoid losses and build resilience.
🎧 Subscribe to EPRS Policy Podcasts: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/audio-podcasts.html
🔎 Read the in-depth analysis Ten issues to watch in 2024 behind this podcast:
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_IDA(2024)757592")
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On 30 June 2022, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and then New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the conclusion of negotiations on a comprehensive EU-New Zealand free trade agreement (FTA). The agreement was signed on 9 July 2023. Although the 2014-2019 Commission had initially aimed to finalise negotiations before the end of its mandate, both sides raised several sensitive issues during negotiations, not least because New Zealand is a major and competitive producer and exporter of agricultural goods. The EU committed to taking European agricultural sensitivities fully into consideration in its negotiating strategy.
Subscribe to EPRS Policy Podcasts: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/audio-podcasts.html
See the paper publication behind this podcast:
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2023)757564")
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In the EU, the distinction between delegated acts and implementing acts was introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon. The distinction seems clear only at first sight. Delegated acts are defined as non-legislative acts of general application, adopted by the European Commission on the basis of a delegation contained in a legislative act. In contrast, implementing acts are not defined as to their legal nature, but to their purpose − where uniform conditions for implementing legally binding Union acts are needed. Under no circumstances may an implementing act modify anything in the basic act. Both delegated and implementing acts are subject to judicial review by the Court of Justice of the EU which controls their conformity with the basic act.
See the publications behind this podcast:
The evolving powers of the European Parliament https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2024/762399/EPRS_IDA(2024)762399_EN.pdf
Understanding delegated and implementing acts
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2021)690709
The European Parliaments right to challenge Commission delegated acts
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2022)739257
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Subscribe to EPRS Policy Podcasts: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/audio-podcasts.html
See the paper publication behind this podcast:
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2023)753958")
