L'Unione europea e l'extraterritorialità degli altri. I fallimenti del regolamento di blocco tra finalità valoriali e difensive

The EU Blocking Statute constitutes a legal instrument through which the European Union seeks to counteract the extraterritorial effects of U.S. secondary sanctions targeting entities within its Mem- ber States. The Statute is a key component of the EU’s strategic autonomy agenda, though it suffers from structural deficiencies. This study explores the root causes of its limited effectiveness through three key perspectives. First, it examines the regulation’s value- based purpose, highlighting the aporia arising when the EU invokes adherence to international legal principles it struggles to uphold in practice. Second, it considers the Statute’s defensive purpose, reveal- ing paradoxes stemming from the EU’s attempt to protect economic operators through prohibitions that are often more advantageous to violate. Third, the discussion explores prospects for reform, assessing the potential transition from a primarily soft power strategy — based on persuasive influence — to a framework characterized by hard power or authoritative power. This leads to critical questions: Is it still feasible for the EU to position itself as a “values-based power” engaging third countries in compliance with rules that are increas- ingly less widely shared? Can the EU sustain its claim to persuasive power if voluntary compliance with its imposed obligations becomes less advantageous? Should the EU instead seek to recover an au- thoritative power capable of enforcing compliance regardless of convenience?