To counter the Chinese “new routes of” Silk “, the European Commission presented a competitive project of investments in infrastructure projects around the world, called” Global Gateway “.
by
Europeans have definitely not a very developed meaning of marketing. When China deploys its “new silk roads” all over the world to establish its influence, the European Commission baptizes its competitor project, “Global Gateway”, “Global Portal” in French! The choice of words does not let him guess, but the Community strategy, presented on Wednesday 1 December, is a European response at the initiative of Beijing, who has, since 2013, invested dozens of billion euros in ports, roads and other bridges on all continents.
It aims to mobilize up to 300 billion euros of public and private funds by 2027 in infrastructure projects outside the European Union (EU), in neighboring countries of the Western Balkans, in Africa, but also in South America or Asia. “Investments in digital, health, climate, energy and transportation sectors, as well as education and research will be a priority,” says the Commission.
Respect for the Rule of law
For the most part, its plan is based on existing programs but whose funds will be reoriented. Money will be made available in the form of loans from the European Investment Bank, with the guarantee of the EU, and of European public financial institutions, such as the French Development Agency (AFD) in France or Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW) in Germany. The twenty-seven will contribute, via the Community budget, up to 18 billion euros of aid.
Countries where these investments financed with EU assistance will be required to comply with “the rule of law, human rights standards, workers’ rights”, specifies the Commission . “We want to show that a sitting approach on democratic values can operate,” said President, Ursula von der Leyen, and enjoy both Europeans and their partners.
The Commission had launched a comparable strategy, towards Asia, in 2018. But, Jean-Claude Juncker, then at the head of the institution, did not have enough politically and she had Lost in the Brussels machine: it has, to date, allowed to finance 9.6 billion euros of investments … “European officials feared to invest in money in white elephants, these gigantic infrastructures and Useless, or that European funds are diverted, “explains a European source.
You have 53.18% of this article to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.