To safeguard its future economic security and avoid stagnation, Europe must prioritise reliability over price in critical areas like defence, technology and raw materials.

Since the Russian invasion in February 2022, Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries have emerged as key players in the geopolitical landscape.

Serbia, for instance, has exported ammunition worth €800 million to Ukraine, according to The Economist. Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have visited Belgrade with business delegations to strengthen ties. Simultaneously, the Czech Republic is poised to receive a significant investment from American chipmaker Onsemi to advance semiconductor development critical to Europe’s automotive sector, while Hungary prepares to host China’s first electric car company, BYD.

These seemingly disparate examples illustrate a shared trend: Manufacturers are shortening supply chains to regain control in an era of growing protectionism. The Chinese would not be building battery factories and an electric car assembly plant in Hungary if the European Union was not raising tariffs and there was no pressure to further restrict imports.

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