European countries will meet Wednesday to endorse a list of 87 mainly climate, energy, and transport-focused investments around the world, designed to compete with China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The Global Gateway, as the European Commission calls its plan, has been lambasted since its launch in late 2021 as largely a repackaging of existing money to fit a new narrative that is more focused on geopolitical posturing and self-interest than the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
The Gateway is based on a promise to leverage at least €300 billion (about $318 billion) in investments globally by 2027, though that figure is achieved by extrapolating from the use of budget guarantees and some grants from the Commission’s development assistance budget, which it claims will encourage private capital to invest as well.