Debate: The Global Gateway Initiative
Date: THURSDAY, 19 JANUARY 2023
Speaker: Adina-Ioana Vălean
Language: EN

Through Global Gateway and its Team Europe initiatives we aim to address the world’s most pressing challenges: the infrastructure gap; the digital divide; climate change; pandemic recovery; increasing inequalities; and preparation for future health crises. It is our principal means to help our partner countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. It is just over a year since Global Gateway was announced. We have used that time to set a solid foundation for the strategy, identifying key actions and establishing governance structures. Now we must use 2023 to deliver progress on the ground. First, we have identified a wide range of global gateway flagship programmes across the world, to deliver real transformation in digital and green transitions, transport, health, education and other key sectors. We will push ahead with all of these in partnership with Member States and the European financing institutions’ Team Europe, focusing and combining our efforts for greater impact.  Geopolitically, we have used Global Gateway to boost the EU’s profile with key regions of the world. We have seen the announcement of the EU investment packages at the summits with the African Union in February 2022 and with ASEAN in December. We have had important meetings with partners from the Indo—Pacific, and on connectivity in Central Asia. We will develop another important investment agenda for the EU—CELAC summit in July this year. Second, through the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus, we are mobilising additional funding, including private investors and businesses, acknowledging the private sector’s crucial role in the Global Gateway rollout. We have also made good progress with the governance of the Global Gateway strategy. The first meeting of the Global Gateway Board successfully took place on 11 December under the chairmanship of President von der Leyen. We were pleased that Members of the European Parliament were able to participate as observers, and we are grateful for their very useful contributions. There will be a dedicated business advisory group to allow exchanges with relevant European businesses. In parallel, we will continue to hold dialogues with civil society organisations. This will allow the Board to give strong but realistic strategic guidance on our collective ambitions. Finally, I am pleased that the Global Gateway and Team Europe initiatives are already starting to improve the EU’s and Member States collective visibility, and also their impact. Many EU delegations report increased cooperation with Member States’ embassies on the ground. So what’s next? For this year, it is clear that our focus has to be on implementation of the initiatives and flagships already identified. We and our partners want major transformational impact, and we want it quickly. Team Europe’s focus will be on rapid delivery, and we look for Parliament’s support in this. Coupled with this will be a strong strategic communication effort to demonstrate the real value of Global Gateway to partner countries, businesses, multilateral partners and, of course, to the public of Europe and across the world. Again, the European Parliament has an important role in conveying this positive message. Thank you very much for your interest in this important issue, I’m looking forward to listening to your comments.