In the second post in a Renforce special series on the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), Thomas Verellen looks at the regulation – which applies as of today – from the angle of democratic accountability. In response to geopolitical unrest, the global expansion of state capitalism, and the climate crisis, the EU has significantly strengthened the European Commission’s unilateral trade policy toolbox. How the Commission can be held democratically accountable as it starts to yield its newfound powers, he argues, should be top of mind for everybody concerned about the democratic credentials of the European Union. The FSR cannot be seen in isolation from this broader context.

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