9 Global Gateway Europe At the end of 2021, the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy launched the Global Gateway: a new European strategy to boost smart, clean, and secure investments in the digital, energy, and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education, and research systems across the world. Furthermore, does it aim to connect goods, people, and services around the world in a sustainable way. The focus of the global initiative lays on physical infrastructure, such as fibre optic cables, transport corridors, and clean power transmission lines. Some of the key elements that are incorporated are: democratic values and high standards, good governance and transparency, equal partnerships, green and clean, and security focused. The emergence of Covid-19 has proven to show how interconnected the world is, which is why the EU wanted to involve actors on a global level. By investing in key sectors around the globe and supporting private investments, the EU is looking to build strong connections without dependency on one another. Moreover, with the Global Gateway the EU wants to offer an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative – the massive, geopolitically influential network of infrastructure and transport investments that Beijing uses to link its exporters to Western markets. The main goal of the new European strategy is to mobilize around €300 billion in investments between the years of 2021 and 2027 to underpin a lasting and sustainable global recovery. The innovative strategy will be delivered through a Team Europe approach, which brings together the EU institutions, the 27 EUMember States, and European financial and development institutions, such as the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), along with the private sector and civil society. The first targets of this investment will be Europe’s neighbouring countries and will create sustainable links between the EU and those countries without creating an unsustainable level of debt. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that no partner will be excluded. However, only smart investments, the ones that respect the highest social and environmental standards will be considered and supported.
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