EU Global Gateway: Accelerating the Digital Infrastructure Investment Agenda Through Global Partnerships

Black Box stage

Speakers
Margus Tsahkna

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Estonia

Mário Augusto da Silva Oliveira

Minister for Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication

Angola

David Ringrose

Head of Digital Transition and Global Gateway

EEAS

Jacek Kubas

Head of the Digital Hub

EBRD

Rene Summer

Director

Ericsson

Dr Benedikt Erforth

Senior Researcher

German Institute of Development and Sustainability

Growing global competition and increasing pressure on international rules-based order and security architecture highlight the need for Europe to increase its global outreach. International partnerships built on common values strengthen open societies, foster economic growth and build common prosperity. Amid systemic competition of international partnership proposals, Europe’s value-based offer to its partners around the world must respond to the most pressing challenges our societies are facing, including poor (digital) infrastructure, connectivity issues, climate change and gaps in global education and healthcare. This value-based offer – presented under the Global Gateway label – can only be successful through the effective collaboration with partners, using all of our assets, actors and knowledge, known as Team Europe. This includes more effectively involving our private sector and better linking our global partnerships to the EU’s domestic competitiveness agenda. Proposing projects and building coalitions should be easily accessible to all of Team Europe, including the private sector and financiers.

This discussion explores how to simplify the rules, accelerate project financing and strengthen our market-economy-based approach, without compromising EU’s high regulatory and social standards. How can we ensure that the Global Gateway is fit for purpose, making it clear to countries, companies, and financiers what the projects are and how to get involved? Additionally, how can we better engage our global partners and consider their needs, as well as involve smaller EU countries and companies in large-scale projects?