The European Union wants to boost business investments in Southern countries, as part of its “Global gateway” strategy launched in 2021 to counter Chinese influence in Africa, it announced on Thursday, October 9. This initiative aimed to mobilize up to €300 billion of public and private funds until 2027 to finance infrastructure projects around the world, in particular in response to the Chinese “New Silk Roads” initiative.
An objective already surpassed, greeted the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Thursday, when she received in Brussels a dozen leaders of Southern countries and representatives of more than 150 large European companies.
Furthermore, in a world where customs barriers multiply and become “a geopolitical tool”, he presented the EU as a reliable international partner, which establishes agreements with third countries “based on common interests and respect for sovereignty.”
Criticism of NGOs
On the contrary, for some States, “export controls have become a political instrument, a means of harming competition and obtaining concessions”, and certain “unviable foreign investments” are generating “unsustainable levels of debt in too many countries”, he stated.
A barely veiled allusion to the trade policies of the United States and China. Several forum participants welcomed the desire to increase the mobilization of European businesses.
But the EU strategy is criticized by some NGOs. “The development aid budget is increasingly used to favor European companies and geopolitical interests”, to the detriment of local populations or climate objectives, estimated Frank Vanaerschot, director of the Counter Balance collective of associations.
Source: BFM TV
