EU's Global Gateway needs to embrace regions and cities

European Committee of the Regions calls for localisation of the EU's global investment strategy, including through region-to-region and municipal partnerships.

The European Committee of the Regions has urged that the European Union to reinforce the role of local and regional authorities in its Global Gateway investment strategy, to ensure that the EU's international partnerships realise their full potential and that EU investments are sustainable, tailored to local needs, and strengthen democratic governance.

The call is contained in an opinion entitled 'The Localisation of the EU’s Global Gateway' adopted by the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) on 10 December. The CoR's opinion argues that integrating regions and cities in partner countries from the outset into the design, implementation and monitoring of investments will be critical to the success of the Global Gateway strategy, which it describes as "the cornerstone of a more geopolitical Europe".

The opinion argues that decentralised cooperation partnerships provide the EU with a unique tool to help ensure that investments are sustainable, tailored to territorial specificities, and responsive to local needs. It calls for a range of steps to capitalise on long-standing direct partnerships between cities and regions in the EU and in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the EU's neighbourhood, saying that they can also enhance democratic accountability, institutional resilience, and bottom-up development.

The report, which was drafted by Jaume Duch Guillot (ES/PES), the Catalan government's minister for the European Union and foreign action, supports the EU's ambition to implement a '360-degree approach' to international development partnerships but points out that the strategy makes little reference of local authorities. It calls for the EU to formally recognise local and regional governments – both in the EU and in partner countries – as strategic actors in shaping, implementing, governing, and monitoring the Global Gateway, by issuing a new communication on the role of local and regional authorities in international partnerships.

The opinion sets out a series of other specific steps that could be taken to turn regions and cities into strategic actors, including targeted support for local and regional authorities – in the form of coordination with local and EU partners, training, technical assistance, and peer mentoring.

The Global Gateway prioritises investment into transport, health, education, energy, climate, and digitalisation. The CoR's opinion says that housing should be added to the priority list.

The opinion was adopted following a debate with MEP Barry Andrews (IE/Renew Europe), who chairs the European Parliament's Committee on Development (DEVE) and with representatives of regions and cities from Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as with Koen Doens, Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA). 

The speakers from EU partner countries – from Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo), Kathmandu (Nepal), Cuenca (Ecuador), and Belize City (Belize) – also took part in the forum of Cities and Regions for International Partnerships, which was held in 8-10 December in Brussels. The forum was co-organised by the CoR and the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Partnerships. 

 Quote:  

Jaume Duch Guillot (ES/PES), minister for the European Union and foreign action for the Government of Catalonia: "We believe that Europe’s strength does not lie solely in its economic power or its institutional architecture, but in its unique ability to mobilise territories, communities, and citizens in service of a shared global vision based on democracy and solidarity. With the adoption of this opinion, the European Committee of the Regions sends a firm and united message: the EU’s external action must be closer to the territories. Decentralised cooperation is not an optional extra – it is a strategic tool. Global Gateway is the EU’s flagship initiative in external action. But to succeed, it must do more than just mobilise investment in quality infrastructure; it must strengthen democratic governance, support human development, and create partnerships based on mutual trust. And this is precisely where local and regional governments are indispensable. Local and regional governments do not want to be merely service providers; we are political institutions. We channel the needs of citizens, provide essential services, and act as levers for transformation and progress."

Background:  

• Further material: The opinion – 'The localisation of the EU’s Global Gateway' – and accompanying factsheet can be found on the CoR's website. A recording of the debate can be found on CoR's dedicated webpage for the plenary session. Photos can be found the CoR's Flickr page. For audiovisual support, please contact the CoR's audiovisual service. 

• About the forum of Cities and Regions for International Partnerships: Co-organised by the European Committee of the Regions and the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Partnerships, the forum of Cities and Regions for International Partnerships provides a platform connecting local and regional administrations from the EU and partner countries, development banks, the UN system, civil society, and private actors. The forum serves as a space for policy dialogue, networking, training, and the launch of new partnerships. This year's forum was held on 8-10 December. Recordings of the panel sessions – including a strategic debate between local and regional authorities and EU institutions on the Global Gateway and sub-national partnerships – are available on the webpage of the forum of Cities and Regions for International Partnerships. The agenda can also be found on the webpage of the forum; a summary of recommendations from the forum will be added. 

• About the Global Gateway:  The EU’s main external cooperation and investment strategy, the Global Gateway strategy links infrastructure investment with improvements in governance, planning, and inclusiveness in its effort to respond to global needs and to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The EU is seeking to implement a '360-degree approach' to ensure that the Global Gateway evolves into an integrated development strategy, including by involving local and regional authorities, which are crucial for achieving two-thirds of SDG targets. The CoR believes that a stronger role for local and regional authorities will ensure greater transparency, local ownership, better impacts, and more inclusive governance. The Global Gateway initiative, which was launched in 2021, aims to mobilise €300 billion in funding between 2021 and 2027 for projects and programmes chiefly in the areas of digitalisation, energy, transport, health, education, and research. To maximise impact, the Global Gateway coordinates and leverages EU instruments, combines the resources and capacities of EU Member States and financial institutions as part of a Team Europe approach, and seeks to mobile private-sector investment. 

Contact:

Andrew Gardner 

Tel: +32 473 843 981 

andrew.gardner@cor.europa.eu