ABSTRACT – On 27 December 2023, Regulation (EU) 2023/2675 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 November 2023 on the protection of the Union and its Member States from economic coercion by third Countries entered into force. The adoption of this Act derives from the awareness of the growing risks resulting from the interconnection of national economies, including that of economic coercion by third States with more powerful means. The Regulation is designed to deter third States from exercising economic coercion against the Union or its Member States and, as a last resort, to counteract it. Moreover, the Act is structured to ensure an innovative inter-institutional balance in the area of the common commercial policy, especially with regard to the powers entrusted to the Council to determine the occurrence of any economic coercion. On the other hand, the provisions of the regulation must, in any case, be framed in conformity with international law, in line with the principles and objectives of the EU’s external action. Accordingly, following a contextual reconstruction of the adoption of the Regulation, this paper intends to offer an introductory analysis of its provisions and to examine its most relevant aspects. This, both with regard to the relationship of the Regulation with international customary and conventional law on trade and investment, and to the involvement of the Commission and the Council.
