The Belt and Road Initiative: An Opportunity or a Threat for the European Union?

This paper discusses the evolution of European reactions to the BRI in the early years after its launch (from 2013 to 2017) and, through the analysis of official documents, publications and policies, shows that at first EU’s reaction was more favorable and later, starting from 2016, its at- titude changed to become more hostile. Indeed, our analysis shows that EU concerns about Chinese practices increased with the development of first BRI-related projects and that core EU Member States, most notably France and Germany, which represent also a portion of Continental Eu- rope that is more peripheral to the BRI, have increasingly worked for the adoption of a whole of EU approach to China. Factors that have pushed EU to shift toward a more ‘protectionist’ stance mainly concern the lack of reciprocity and the threat of Chinese control over critical technologies and infrastructure. Yet, the different impact of the BRI in various Europe- an regions has reduced EU cohesion, making difficult the establishment of a clear European strategy.