Tuesday, November 30th, 2021
Billions for Global Gateway
EU wants to push back China’s influence
China’s influence in the world has been growing massively for years, for example through international projects such as the Silk Road Initiative. The EU no longer wants to stand idly by. With the Global Gateway initiative, the EU Commission is planning huge investments in the infrastructure of emerging and developing countries.
In order to expand the influence of the EU in the world, up to 300 billion euros are to be invested in the infrastructure of emerging and developing countries over the next six years. As Ursula von der Leyen’s draft project by the EU Commission shows, the money is primarily intended to be invested in projects to improve environmentally friendly energy, data and transport networks. For example, fiber optic cables for high-speed Internet connections, new railway lines or plants for the production and liquefaction of green hydrogen could be promoted. The initiative, called Global Gateway, is due to be presented in Brussels on Wednesday.
The background to the plans is in particular the rapidly growing influence of China in the world, which is investing internationally in infrastructure projects with its Silk Road initiative. Beijing’s approach has meant that countries like Germany have long been pushing for stronger EU engagement in this area. You can see that China is using economic and financial resources all over the world to increase its influence, said Foreign Minister Heiko Maas of the SPD in Brussels in the summer. That is why it is important that the European Union offers its own alternatives.
Strengthening the competitiveness of the EU
From the point of view of the 27 EU member states, stronger international networking will also strengthen the competitiveness of the EU and reduce strategic dependencies – for example with regard to critical raw materials.
The up to 300 billion euros from the new global gateway initiative should flow by the end of 2027. According to the plans, up to 135 billion euros of the total will be mobilized through the Fund for Sustainable Development (EFSD +) and 145 billion euros through other European financial institutions. In addition, grants of up to 18 billion euros are to come from EU programs that are not financed by the EFSD +.
Objective: drive back Chinese influence
Germany looks forward to the project presentation with hope. “Global Gateway has the potential to make the EU an effective geopolitical actor”, commented the permanent representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to the EU, Michael Clauss, at the appointment on Wednesday. The offer of rule- and value-based cooperation on equal terms will be an attractive alternative to the Chinese Silk Road for many partner countries.
Another EU diplomat, who did not want to be named, said that it would now be important to fund the initiative to the planned extent and to allow the first steps to be implemented quickly. If that succeeds, the partnership approach could underpin the EU’s geopolitical aspirations and reduce Chinese influence.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently said of the work on the project: “We are good at financing roads. But it makes no sense for Europe to close a perfect road between a Chinese-owned copper mine and a Chinese-owned port build.” Future investments need to be smarter.