Media: Brussels’ Global Gateway struggles for political backing

The European Union’s flagship Global Gateway investment initiative is facing growing concerns over political engagement after a June meeting of its governing board was canceled because almost none of the EU’s 27 member states indicated that their ministers would attend, EUobserver reports.

EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Sikela has since postponed the meeting until the autumn.

The June cancellation followed a similar situation at an earlier board meeting in April. The meeting was attended by the chairs of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs, international trade and development committees — David McAllister, Bernd Lange and Barry Andrews — but only one EU national minister was present.

A single EU commissioner also attended the April meeting but reportedly left after about an hour.

The lack of ministerial participation has raised questions over the level of political backing for Global Gateway, a major EU initiative intended to strengthen the bloc’s influence through infrastructure investment and development partnerships.

Launched in 2022, Global Gateway was initially tasked with mobilizing more than €300 billion in investments for infrastructure projects in developing countries, including at least €100 billion for Africa.

By Vafa Guliyeva