Geopolitical Initiative “Global Gateway” of the EU Commission

The article is devoted to the investment strategy of the European Union “Global Gateway”. Official documents and publicly available information on flagship projects served as an analytical basis for identifying the objectives of the relevant initiative of the European Commission, announced in 2021. The failure of experts' attempts to operationalise the strategy was noted due to the lack of convincing facts of its implementation and measurable results. The author discusses the reasons for the unsuccessful start of the Global Gate initiative. They consist in the unfavorable political environment, the limited and narrow focus of financial incentives from the EU, which turn off private investment. The approach to relations with external countries, called open strategic autonomy, applied by the “geopolitical Commission” under the leadership of Ursula von der Leyen, conserve the concept of the EU's normative power as a basis, is complemented by a semantic focus on projects that meet the interests of restoring the EU's leadership position in global competition. During 2022‒2023, the European think tanks supported the initiative by making recommendations for attracting capital to the proposed projects. Nevertheless, economic actors, having demonstrated interest, remained in the position of observers. Thus, the initiative did not overcome the initial stage of diplomatic memorandums and roadmaps. According to the author of the article, the announced reform will be formal, namely, aimed at saving the initiative, appeasing partner non-governmental organisations advocating for the UN Sustainable Development Goals, continuing scientific research, conducting communication events and fueling the technical component of flagship projects.

Global gateway initiative, open strategic autonomy, geopolitical Commission, normative power, centre – periphery, UN sustainable development goals, European commission