European Union countries reaffirmed, on Monday 15 June, their commitment to continuing the work carried out through the ‘Global Gateway’ investment package, a strategic tool of European development policies around the world. Meeting in Luxembourg, EU foreign ministers adopted conclusions reiterating the commitment of the Member States, but also the need for their greater involvement in the implementation of this strategy.
The Council of the EU calls in particular on the European Commission “to ensure early, systematic and meaningful involvement of Member States throughout the planning, selection and evaluation of Global Gateway actions, including through structured consultations”.
In addition, it notes that “the current governance arrangements may be reviewed in light of the governance of any future EU external action instruments”, while on Monday the EU Council was finalising its negotiating position on the ‘Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument’.
In their conclusions, the ministers stress the need to strengthen transparency in project selection, improve the monitoring of results and develop more ambitious communication in order to consolidate the visibility of ‘Global Gateway’ as the EU’s benchmark brand worldwide.
Moreover, the Member States renewed their call for greater mobilisation of the private sector, in particular European SMEs, which are being called on to play a more active part in projects supported by the Union.
To see the conclusions adopted by the Council of the EU: https://aeur.eu/f/mcr (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)