Today at the Cities and Regions for International Partnerships Forum 2023, co-organised by the European Commission and the Committee of Regions in Brussels, the EU highlighted the importance of a “territorial approach” to the Global Gateway strategy through decentralised cooperation and partnerships. The theme of the Forum this year focused on “connecting intermediary cities and investing together for more inclusive and innovative sustainable cities and regions”.
Speaking at the opening session, Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen said: “In these troubled times, local and regional Government leaders are the ones on the frontlines, the primary agents for delivering change on the ground. The ones who can really make a difference for citizens. With civil society and local authorities embedded in Global Gateway implementation, ensuring Team Europe upholds the highest standards on the ground, I am convinced that Global Gateway will be a game changer”.
First Vice-President of the European Committee of Regions Apostolos Tzitzikostas, added: “Global cooperation is essential for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The EU’s Global Gateway provides funding needed to seize development opportunities. International partnerships between regions and cities can ensure that development is effectively localised, benefiting partners inside and beyond the EU. Partnerships benefit everyone. I encourage all administrations to join forces with others.”
This territorial approach includes exchanging best practices between communities at the local level. The EU recently launched the Global Gateway Civil Society and Local Authorities Dialogue Platform. This platform provides a space for feedback on Global Gateway rollout within the different investment priorities and geographic contexts, and to exchange with the European Commission on opportunities to engage in country-level Global Gateway partnerships, complementing consultations locally.
The opening-up of TAIEX – the peer-to-peer exchange and cooperation tool of the European Commission – to the local authorities of the partner countries has also been presented.
Background
Global Gateway is the EU’s contribution to narrowing the global investment gap worldwide. It is in line with the commitment of the G7 leaders from June 2021 to launch a values-driven, high-standard and transparent infrastructure partnership to meet global infrastructure development needs. Global Gateway is also fully aligned with the UN’s Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the Paris Agreement. Between 2021 and 2027, Team Europe will mobilise up to €300 billion of investments for sustainable and high-quality projects, taking into account the needs of partner countries and ensuring lasting benefits for local communities.
An increasing number of policies have a strong territorial dimension and cover sectors and services that impact on citizens lives at local level. They are also frequently administered by sub-state public authorities, i.e. regions, cities, and other local administrative entities. Therefore local government buy-in is essential for Global Gateway projects to be effective. For instance, in Europe, 75% of public investment falls within the framework of local public policies. Of the 169 targets underlying the SDGs, 65% can only be attained through engagement of and coordination with local and regional governments.
