EU Legal Obstacles to the Belt and Road Initiative: Towards a China-EU Framework on the Belt and Road Initiative

Abstract

The Belt and Road Initiative aims to connect China with the rest of Asia and Europe, thereby creating a Eurasian continent. Since the European Union is the terminal point of both the overland and maritime routes of the Belt and Road Initiative, the European Union is an essential partner for the success of the Initiative. Nonetheless, the EU has not yet adopted any common position on the Belt and Road Initiative. Whereas southern and eastern EU Member States are generally enthusiastic, northern and western EU Member States are more hesitant. China for its part focuses on the 16+1 framework, which includes EU and non-EU Member States, but has not yet comprehensively engaged with the EU. However, such engagement is needed, due to significant legal obstacles that may arise when the Belt and Road Initiative is implemented within the EU legal order. Although China may prefer to engage with individual EU Member States, due to the pooling of sovereignty at the EU level, EU Member States do no longer have sole decision-making powers in the areas of internal market, international investment, public procurement, etc. Consequently, projects under the Belt and Road Initiative may conflict with EU rules, as is evidenced by the EU Commission’s investigation into the Budapest-Belgrade Railway for possible violation of EU public procurement rules. The contribution looks into the potential legal obstacles posed by EU law for the successful implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative and proposes that China and the EU should set up a comprehensive international framework through which the European part of the Belt and Road Initiative may be realized.