EU development strategy needs muscle in global race

The EU should overhaul its global development strategy to make it more participatory, bring in private actors and European companies, and speed up decision-making, say EPP MEPs ahead of today’s plenary vote on the first-ever parliamentary report assessing the EU’s “Global Gateway” strategy. 

Global Gateway aims to strengthen digital, energy and transport links, and support health, education and research systems worldwide. But EPP MEPs warn that the programme remains too centralised and Commission-driven, with weak governance, limited transparency and unclear project selection, while local actors and the private sector are insufficiently reflected. 

"Global Gateway is key to strengthening the EU’s strategic autonomy and competitiveness in an increasingly tense geopolitical environment. To deliver, it must mobilise private capital and create the right conditions for European companies to invest. This is also in our partners’ interest, as they are looking for truly mutually beneficial partnerships with the EU," explains Hildegard Bentele MEP, who drafted the report.  

Jan Farský MEP, who negotiated on behalf of the EPP Group in the Parliament committee on Foreign Affairs, stressed the geopolitical impact of the initiative. "The European Union offers a globally unique approach. It doesn’t project power like the US, pursue modern-day colonisation like China, nor occupy territory like Russia. Instead, it offers partnership," he says. "Through these partnerships, we can gain access to resources, improve the quality of life locally and reduce migration pressure."

"To succeed, Global Gateway needs faster decisions, clearer governance and financing tools that genuinely support the private sector, alongside better alignment with national and regional development priorities," Bentele adds. "Only then can we build sustainable, long-term partnerships that benefit all sides."