EU’s Global Gateway: A Strategic Framework for Geopolitical and Geo-economic Challenges
Koen Doens, Director-General for International Partnerships at the European Commission, delivered a compelling speech outlining the European Union’s strategic vision for global engagement through the Global Gateway initiative. Speaking at the EDFI Management Company Corporate Day, Doens emphasized the changing geopolitical landscape and the need for a new approach to international partnerships.
Global Gateway: Responding to a Changing World
Doens highlighted that the Global Gateway is a strategic framework designed to address the current geopolitical and geo-economic challenges facing the EU. He noted that the world is being viewed differently now, as reflected in the Draghi report and President von der Leyen’s political guidelines for the next Commission. “Clearly we are looking at the world in a different way from the way in which we looked at it beforehand”, Doens stated, emphasizing the new opportunities this perspective brings for engaging with partner countries and emerging markets.
Investment-Driven Partnerships
The core of the Global Gateway strategy, according to Doens, is an investment-driven approach that aligns European interests with those of partner countries. He described it as a “space where these two interests overlap,” which he believes is “enormous.”
Doens outlined key focus areas for these investments, including:
- Critical raw materials
- Renewable energy and green hydrogen
- Transport and connectivity infrastructure
- Sustainable aviation and maritime fuels
Scaling Up Global Gateway
Mr Doens announced that the EU is moving Global Gateway “from startup to scale up,” indicating a significant expansion of the initiative. This scaling up will involve:
- Focusing on larger, more impactful flagship projects
- Engaging with private sector investors
- Collaborating with export credit agencies
- Utilizing concessional finance and grant funding
Challenges and Expectations
While acknowledging the ambitious nature of these goals, Mr Doens was clear about the expectations from partners: “What we are expecting from you is an engagement on all of those aspects of all those difficult sectors and an engagement with those other partners, so with the private sector, with the export credit agencies.”
Looking Ahead
Mr Doens concluded by emphasizing that while this agenda isn’t entirely new, it will be the guiding force for EU actions over the next five years. He stated, “In the political documents that will guide our action over the next five years, I think the sense of direction out of those crossroads has been clearly set.”
