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The Global Gateway as an opportunity for German business: EU Commissioner Jozef Síkela and the Federal Government in dialogue with companies
German business can benefit even more than it has done so far from the EU connectivity strategy Global Gateway and can claim support for investments abroad – in particular via the European Commission’s new Global Gateway Investment Hub and the relevant new national contact point.
The Federal Government, the EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, and around 120 company representatives are meeting in the House of German Business today to exchange views on this.
The fact that the Federal Government is being represented by the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Reem Alabali Radovan, and State Secretaries Dr Bernhard Kotsch (Federal Foreign Office) and Dr Thomas Steffen (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy) underscores the realisation that the Global Gateway still has far more potential for German businesses and is a special indicator of the interconnected development, economic and geopolitical interests of Germany and the EU.
Development Minister Reem Alabali Radovan issued the following statement:
Development policy is part of an anticipatory, future-proof economic policy. The Global Gateway brings the economy, development and geopolitics together. Particularly in times of financial constraint, we invest where there is mutual benefit, at the interface between development and economic cooperation. The Global Gateway is our European offer to partners worldwide to work together to create better links between Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America and to promote sustainable growth. We are helping German companies to play an even bigger part here with their investments.
State Secretary Bernhard Kotsch said:
In a world where economic security and foreign policy are ever more closely intertwined, support for infrastructure investments by German companies abroad also helps strengthen our capacity for external action. The Global Gateway provides an appropriate European framework for this.
State Secretary Dr Thomas Steffen said:
The Global Gateway is also intended to strengthen the competitiveness of German and European companies. Establishing the Global Gateway Investment Hub contact point is an important step towards involving the private sector and being able to offer it concrete support.
EU Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela commented:
The Global Gateway offers German companies the opportunity to implement projects in rapidly growing markets. With the new Global Gateway Investment Hub, we are supporting this engagement by providing a clear contact point and coordinated European support. Through loans, grants and risk-mitigating instruments, we are turning German companies’ broad-ranging expertise into concrete projects and strengthening Europe’s partnerships worldwide.
Companies can submit applications for support to the European Commission via the new national contact point. A pre-eligibility check looks at various criteria, including the project’s targeted region and sector, the planned project volume (minimum EUR 10 million) and where the project sponsor is headquartered in the EU. Responsibility for the national contact point lies with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Federal Foreign Office, with the participation of the Agency for Business and Economic Development (AWE), the German Investment and Development Company (DEG), Euler Hermes, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). The new platform Förderlotse Wachstumsmärkte will be presented during the event. This platform pools information on Federal Government support, funding and advisory services for companies.
With the Global Gateway, the EU has created a strategy for sustainable investments in partner countries that is oriented to geopolitical interests and development goals. Since the end of 2021, more than EUR 300 billion has already been mobilised. The European Commission aims to mobilise a total of EUR 400 billion by the end of 2027. The private sector has a vital role to play here.