Japan’s Been Invited to a New Global Power Alliance. Guess What Language They Speak?
politico.eu (Mar. 19, 2026)
Japan, Canada, South Korea invited to Renew Europe Geoeconomic defence group (full article below)
The EU’s Renew Europe group is pushing for a Geoeconomic Deterrence Pact with Japan, Canada, and South Korea – a trade bloc designed to counter pressure from the US and China. Japan’s been offered a seat at the table. These negotiations and relationship-building discussions are in English, under geopolitical pressure, with pressure from every side of the table.
For Japanese executives wanting to join these international trade conversations, fluency in high-stakes English is not just an option – it’s the price of admission.
ThinkLish prepares Japanese executives for the discussions that matter.
(BRUSSELS)
Renew Europe group wants EU to find allies and stop U.S. and China from coercing trade partners.
The European liberal political family is urging EU leaders to form a pact with Japan, Canada, and South Korea to deter U.S. President Donald Trump and China from exerting undue pressure on trade partners, according to a paper seen by POLITICO. In what is dubbed a “Geoeconomic Deterrence Pact” addressed to EU leaders ahead of a summit in Brussels on Thursday, the liberal Renew Europe group in the European Parliament asks the Commission “to identify and negotiate joint export control agreements” by the end of 2026. The paper will be published late Wednesday and sent to EU leaders.
“This pact will map shared critical dependencies (e.g., semiconductors, rare earths) and propose mutual response clauses in trade deals to deter coercion from the US or China. If one country is attacked by aggressive tariffs, all countries should react,” the paper reads.
Valérie Hayer, president of Renew Europe, said: “Deterrence is no longer only military — it is economic. In times of geopolitical tension, we will push for a new alliance format when meeting the leaders ahead of the EU summit: this new format sends a clear signal, united in shared leverage, shared interests, and shared consequences, coercion against one will trigger a response from all.
Hayer described the plan as “the foundation of a new democratic geopolitical power.” Renew Europe is home to French President Emmanuel Macron as well as the leaders of Estonia, Ireland, Slovenia and the Netherlands. The idea is the liberal group’s response to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s call for what he called “middle powers” to come together to “build something bigger, better, stronger, more just” during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“This is the task of the middle powers, the countries that have the most to lose from a world of fortresses and most to gain from genuine cooperation,” Carney said. Thursday’s summit was meant to discuss European ways to boost the bloc’s economy but that has been sidelined by the war in Iran driving up energy costs, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán continuing to veto a €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine.
