The European Commission on 8 December 2021 has proposed a new tool to counter the use of economic coercion by third countries. According to the press release the legal instrument:
is in response to the EU and its Member States becoming the target of deliberate economic pressure in recent years. It strengthens the EU’s toolbox and will allow the EU to better defend itself on the global stage.
The aim is to deter countries from restricting or threatening to restrict trade or investment to bring about a change of policy in the EU in areas such as climate change, taxation or food safety. The anti-coercion instrument is designed to de-escalate and induce discontinuation of specific coercive measures through dialogue as a first step. Any countermeasures taken by the EU would be applied only as a last resort when there is no other way to address economic intimidation, which can take many forms. These range from countries using explicit coercion and trade defence tools against the EU, to selective border or food safety checks on goods from a given EU country, to boycotts of goods of certain origin. The aim is to preserve the EU and the Member States’ legitimate right to make policy choices and decisions and prevent serious interference in the sovereignty of the EU or its Member States.
The Commission provides more information:
- Questions and Answers
- Commission proposal for an Anti-Coercion Instrument
- Annexes to the Commission Proposal for an Anti-Coercion Instrument
- Commission Communication to the European Parliament and the European Council on the Commission’s proposal for an anti-coercion instrument
- Anti-Coercion Instrument process explainer
- Impact Assessment Report
- Impact Assessment Report – Executive Summary
- Regulatory Scrutiny Board Opinion
- DG TRADE anti-coercion website
- Stakeholder feedback following adoption
- European Parliament legislation tracking page
- Joint declaration of the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament on an instrument to deter and counteract coercive actions by third countries
Addition 15 February 2022
Freya Baetens published the article The EU’s Anti-Coercion Instrument: A Big Stick for Big targets, EJIL, January 19, 2022
Ellen Timmer - juridische artikelen en berichten 
Dit is toch wel interessant. Terwijl de EU niets anders doet dan druk uitoefenen middels het gebruik van economische sancties. Zou dit zijn omdat de russen tegenmaatregelen nemen tegen die eeuwigdurende druk van uit de EU? Natuurlijk is die druk gerechtvaardigd komende vanuit het superieure westen. Dat men dan tegenmaatregelen neemt verbaast. En zo gaan we nog wel een poosje door. De gemiddelde afghaan moet maar creperen omdat het bewind aldaar niet bereid is om de staat in te richten naar westers model. Deze belediging dient genadeloos te worden gestraft ongeacht de gevolgen. We maken er immers een betere wereld mee!
Read also the statement by the Council of the European Union of 29 March 2022.