In 2023, the EU intends to make progress on the Global Gateway, an investment strategy that will mobilise €300 billion until 2027 in major digital, transport, clean energy and health infrastructure projects in partner third countries, with a particular focus on Latin America and the Caribbean (see EUROPE 13082/10). This is reflected in the list of priority flagship projects for this year, which was approved on Wednesday 1 March by the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) and obtained by EUROPE.
The focus on Latin America and the Caribbean will not prevent the continued implementation of investment projects in Asia (see EUROPE 13117/13) and Africa or regions such as Central America within the framework of this strategy designed fourteen months ago to raise the EU’s profile in the world and counterbalance investments from competing powers such as China and Russia.
There will be a special focus on Latin America and the Caribbean in the run-up to the EU-CELAC summit on 17-18 July, “with a focus on green, digital and just transition”, says a note from the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council dated 24 February, which was also seen by EUROPE.
For example, the official launch of the EU-CELAC Digital Alliance, including the extension of the Bella cable, the creation of two regional Copernicus centres in Panama and Chile, the start of the construction of new terrestrial cables and EU support for the provision of WAN and WiFi access to 340 schools, are all planned for March.
For Africa, it will be a follow-up to the sixth EU/African Union Summit of 17-18 February 2022 (see EUROPE 13072/13) by implementing projects already identified or in the pipeline under the €150 billion Africa-Europe Global Gateway.
The list approved by the EU27 ambassadors “is not exhaustive but aims to serve as a tool for the EU and its Member States for strategic communication and visibility during 2023”, explained the note.
The promotion of private sector involvement and a potential monitoring mechanism could complement the realisation of the Global Gateway strategy, which is based on mobilising funds from the EU budget, Member States, EU financial institutions and the private sector.
See the list of priority flagship projects 2023: https://aeur.eu/f/5ki
See the note from the Swedish Presidency: https://aeur.eu/f/5km (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)