Beyond ports and transport infrastructure: The Geo-economic impact of the BRI on the European Union

As the terminal point of both the overland and the maritime routes of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the European Union faces significant geo-political, economic and geo-strategic consequences. The most evident influence will be on EU-China bilateral relations, but the impact is manifold and multifaceted to the extent that the BRI will spread over a large number of countries, up to and potentially more than the current 64 countries included in the action plan. The BRI will affect the European Union through the European Neighbourhood Policy towards its southern and eastern bordering countries, many of which are essential participants in the BRI. The BRI will also require the European Union to take a comprehensive attitude about its engagement beyond traditional diplomacy, security and defence policies towards an entire range of new diplomacy areas, including cultural diplomacy, energy diplomacy, maritime diplomacy and “rail diplomacy,” consistently with the strategic priorities included in the global strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy. Finally, the increasing Chinese influence in some member states with a central position in the BRI might call for a strengthening of EU internal cohesion policies and the overall attention towards economic integration of peripheral member states.