Conference Agenda

At a time of increasing international pressure from the largest economic and geopolitical competitors, primarily the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the United States of America (USA), the European Union (EU) is making changes to the rules of the internal market. These are changes towards protectionism, and thus moving away from the previous liberal assumptions, i.e. an internal market open to external competition. This is dictated not only by the pressure of economic competition, but also by the growing geopolitical challenges. The chapter aims to present these changes and their consequences for Poland and Central Europe. The analysis will be based on two theoretical concepts. The first concerns economic regimes, such as the internal market in the EU. The second is geoeconomics, which can be used to analyse changes made on the internal market through the prism of geopolitical competition. The research methodology is based on the analysis of sources and literature on the subject.

The start of 2025 means we are just five years away from the ambitious EU Commission goal of a 55% greenhouse gas emissions reduction and ten years from the end of the sale of CO2-emitting cars within the EU. While the 2024 elections have shifted the EU Commission's focus towards security concerns, potentially overshadowing green goals, the concerns of European automotive manufacturers remain largely unaddressed. So far, the EU Commission has focused on the security aspects that might ultimately harm the overall competitiveness of its automotive sector, as shown by the tariffs on Chinese-imported electric vehicles. Furthermore, the EU automotive sector faces increased challenges from global competition, particularly from the United States and China. This paper will analyze EU competition policy within the automotive sector, with a specific focus on electric vehicles (EVs). Considering the frameworks outlined in the new Competitiveness Compass and the Draghi Report, we will examine the implications of the current EU competition framework and its evolution in response to international pressures. Drawing upon the concept of 'securitization' and its associated theoretical framework, this research will blend legal and policy analyses to comprehensively examine the trajectory of EU law. Using EVs as a case study, we will integrate existing literature on the securitization of EU green policy and the rise of competition policy with the evolving landscape of EU competition and antitrust frameworks. This research aims to provide novel insights into the securitization of EU policies and frameworks beyond traditional domains, while also offering broader perspectives on the evolution of EU competition policy as a whole

We ask a simple question: what data do economists need, and what data do they have to assess rationales, objectives, and effects of state aid within the EU? Almost all of the newly introduced state interventions are products of a changing economic policy paradigm, and researchers need to assess new industrial policies through the lens of modern political economy. That is, political reality may shape the choice and implementation of industrial policies before considering the economic optimum. We discuss new industrial policies in an example of a clean transition within the EU automotive industry. Economic data for assessing state aid is neither readily available nor perfect, policy coordination across the EU Member States is becoming more critical yet more complicated, and policymakers do not fully consider market forces (and failures), including path dependence. We highlight the interplay of economic and political forces in the case study of the Czech automotive industry and the new data sources for assessing industrial policy through state aid, including political speeches and text-as-data for better capturing the underlying rationales.

This project focuses on the regulatory politics of business taxation in the European Union. The project chronicles, analyzes, and assesses EU-level efforts to address inter-jurisdictional differences in business tax and the pernicious effects to which they give rise. The paper will explore legislative efforts to promote administrative cooperation, increase transparency, and prevent corporate tax avoidance. Among the policy instruments we look at are: the ECOFIN Code of Conduct for Business Taxation, elements of the Anti-Tax Avoidance Package, and the proposed establishment of a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Bax (CCCTB). The project will also look at the recent crop of tax planning-related state aid cases, including those addressed to the practices of Starbucks, IKEA, Apple, and others, and explore what lessons they hold.

While we look broadly at the political landscape of tax policy, the project draws particular attention to the role of the European Commission. One focal point is the Commission’s long-standing effort to promote cross-border cooperation in the area of business taxation. Another focal point is the Commission’s use of state aid authority both to shape the rules governing fiscal state aid and to hold to account governments and firms that exploit tax differentials unlawfully.

The project draws from, and aims to contribute to, several literatures. The analytical framework integrates insights from work on incomplete contracting and principal-agent theory. Empirically, the project seeks to add to what the literature on the politics of business taxation in the EU. Presently dominated by economic and legal studies, this project foregrounds the role politics played – and continues to play – in the effort to reconcile member state tax sovereignty and corporate tax planning strategies with the imperatives of the single market.