What is called the "bazooka" is actually the EU's "anti-coercion instrument" and gives the EU a way to prevent or quickly respond to economic threats or measures.
This may mean imposing tariffs, trade restrictions or limits on foreign investment.
The instrument was introduced in December 2023 and is intended to protect the interests of the member states and to secure the EU's sovereignty.
The instrument was introduced after a number of years of various trade conflicts, including with the US under President Trump, and with Russia over gas supplies. The triggering factor, however, was a serious conflict between China and Lithuania, after Lithuania opened a diplomatic representation in Taiwan.
Why is it nicknamed bazooka?
When the proposal was presented in 2021, it was called the "bazooka", especially in the media. Partly because it was seen as a powerful weapon meant to be a deterrent, and partly as an allusion to "the big bazooka", an expression that was used ten years earlier when people talked about an EU weapon to save the euro.
