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Two SKEMA professors help shape the new European economic consensus
On 29 August, the journal Le Grand Continent, in partnership with MEDEF, published the outcome of several months of consultations held under the Front Économique. This collective text, bringing together a hundred experts, sets out a roadmap for repositioning France within the European and global dynamic. Emmanuel Combe and Rodolphe Desbordes, professors of economics at SKEMA Business School, played a direct role within the working group entitled Échanges (“Trade”).
Among the working groups created, the Échanges group, dedicated to international trade, was co-chaired by Emmanuel Combe, professor of economics at SKEMA, and Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, chairman of Société Générale.
Alongside him, Rodolphe Desbordes, also professor of economics and director of the SKEMA Centre for Global Risks, took part in the discussions. Emmanuel Combe explained: “Our working group, made up of experts, carried out an objective and uncompromising diagnosis of the state of international trade, at a time of trade wars with the United States and growing tensions with China. It put forward bold proposals, which have been taken up by MEDEF: notably the signing of a trade agreement with Mercosur, and the launch of technological partnerships, in the form of joint ventures, with China in sectors where Europe is lagging behind.”
Rodolphe Desbordes added: “Geopolitics and new technologies are reshaping international trade at breakneck speed. Our proposals aim to secure the position of France, as well as that of its European partners, in the emerging global economic order.”
The group’s recommendations are structured around three priorities:
- Strategic trade agreements: speeding up the conclusion of free trade agreements, notably with Mercosur, Australia, Canada, India and ASEAN, to diversify markets and secure Europe’s supply chains.
- Relations with China: developing technological partnerships in the form of joint ventures in sectors where Europe is behind, while tightening the conditions of access to the European market.
- European competitiveness: completing the single market for goods and services, simplifying regulations, adapting competition policy and strengthening Europe’s innovation tools.
In parallel, Emmanuel Combe also took part in the opening debate of #LaREF25 on 27 August, during MEDEF’s annual Entrepreneurs’ Forum. He spoke alongside Patrick Martin, president of MEDEF, Anne-Sophie Alsif, chief economist at BDO France, Raúl Gutierrez Muguerza (DEACERO), Yann Lériche (Getlink Group), Deng Li (Chinese ambassador to France), and Laurent Saint-Martin, French minister delegate for foreign trade and French citizens abroad. This opening debate, entitled “Free trade is dead, long live free trade!”, set the tone for this key annual gathering of France’s business leaders.
Read all the recommendations published in Le Grand Continent
