Von der Leyen: ‘Global Gateway better than expected, now a platform for business’

Brussels – The Global Gateway works. The global cooperation strategy launched by the European Commission in 2021 to promote the twin energy and digital transitions has delivered even more than was intended. “Our initial goal was to mobilise EUR 300 billion in five years. But today, we have already hit that target,” the president of the EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen, announced, opening the proceedings of the 2025 edition of the Global Gateway Forum. “In four years, we have already mobilised more than EUR 306 billion. And I am confident we will surpass EUR 400 billion by 2027.” ​

Good news, in a world that is less predictable and in which the European Union is struggling to position itself. The Global Gateway was created first and foremost to respond to China’s trade penetration and advance its interests. Still, it is especially handy today, von der Leyen points out, at a time when “tariffs and trade barriers are back as a tool of geopolitics and geoeconomics.” Any reference to Donald Trump’s United States is not accidental, as the EU-US tariff agreement appears to overlook the green economy. In contrast, with the Global Gateway, “we are trying to strengthen our autonomy in strategic sectors – from clean energy to artificial intelligence.“

Full speed ahead with the twin transition, and even beyond. Enthusiasm for the results achieved leads von der Leyen to announce the Global Gateway Investment Hub, “a single-entry platform for companies to propose investments” to policymakers. This hub is supposed to be “a place where member states, development banks, export credit agencies and companies come together to develop coordinated offersplace where Member States, development banks, export credit agencies, and businesses come together to craft coordinated offers.” Because, she insists, “Together, we can deliver – solid returns for investors, strategic value for Europe, and lasting benefits for our partners.”

“Cooperation between the European Union and Africa through the Global Gateway has enormous potential,” acknowledges Jao Manual Gonçalves Lourenço, President of Angola and of the African Union. “At a time of deep interconnections, issues such as energy security, social inclusion, and climate change resilience become vitally important,” he admits, promising to “give more value to the raw materials that we have in Africa” and that are crucial for the twin transition. 

The European Commission and the EU member states also have the support and backing of South Africa, a member of the G20 and of the BRICS group, and thus a strategic partner as a “friendly” actor of countries such as China, Russia, India, all competitors of the EU on the global stage. “Tariffs should not be used as a weapon, but regulated according to the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO),” emphasised Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa, the country holding the G20 presidency. “We are ready to cooperate with the EU,” on this point as on others. “We need to use trade as a tool to strengthen the economy and industrialisation and the Global Gateway is a good way to do that.”

South America views the global situation through a different lens. Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego, President of Colombia and of CELAC, urges the EU and international partners to reconsider their ties with Moscow — currently at the center of a war with Ukraine that the world will eventually need to learn to move beyond. “If we want to connect with the East, we must include China, Japan, and maybe even Russia,” he said. ‘The United States wants to isolate itself; that is the reality today, ‘ and one has to deal with it. At the level of the political agenda, Urrego looks to the Global Gateway to boost fiber optics, sustainability, and the fight against climate change.