Government-industry relations in an era of economic security
Public evening lecture and discussion with Dr Maria Shagina (International Institute for Strategic Studies) and Professor Dr Inna Melnykovska (European University Institute)
Economic security has become a defining feature of the business environment, as governments increasingly deploy tariffs, sanctions, export controls and investment screening to protect supply chains and strategic technologies. This keynote argues that the decisive challenge is no longer the design of new tools, but their execution: economic statecraft only works when governments have sustained access to firms' data, capabilities and operational insight. Yet public-private cooperation remains fragile-often reactive, siloed and built on informal networks-because states seek flexibility and strategic ambiguity while companies need predictability to manage risk and investment. The talk traces how this "government-industry gap" weakens economic intelligence and produces policies that are either under-informed or unworkable. It then draws lessons from countries that have institutionalised trusted mechanisms-Japan's structured outreach and security clearances, Finland's security-of-supply pools, and the UK's emerging advisory and supply-chain platforms-before turning to the EU's struggle with coordination and trust. The keynote closes with a practical agenda for both sides: governments and businesses.
Maria Shagina is a Diamond-Brown Senior Research Fellow for Economic Sanctions, Standards and Strategy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). Prior to joining IISS, she held senior positions at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and the University of Zurich. She has briefed the EU Commission and the governments in the UK and Germany on sanctions, export controls and economic security. Her research has been cited in The New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, BBC, CNN, Bloomberg, and Foreign Policy. Her forthcoming book The Rise of Economic Statecraft will be published in autumn 2026.
Moderation: Professor Dr Inna Melnykovska
