In this paper we analyze some macroeconomic effects derived from the participation of EU countries in global and regional value chains over the period 1990-2019. By employing local projections, we show that the impact of value chain participation on economic performance depends crucially on the country's position in the production chain. While backward participation is linked to better economic performance, forward participation leads to declining domestic output and a rise in unemployment. Moreover, we find evidence of important heterogeneity among EU countries, with peripheral and CEE countries being more sensitive to shocks in the participation indicators. Our results are robust to different controls.