The EC has unveiled a € 300 billion global investment program

The European Commission (EC) on Wednesday unveiled an investment plan of € 300 billion by 2027 in infrastructure, digital and climate projects around the world. The aim is to strengthen European supply chains, support European Union (EU) trade and help combat climate change. The Global Gateway scheme is seen as the EU's response to China's new Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The European scheme will focus on digitization, health, climate, energy and transport, as well as education and research. EU money in the form of grants, loans and guarantees will come from its institutions as well as from governments as well as financial institutions in the Union and from national development banks. "The EU will offer its funding on fair and favorable terms to reduce the risk of debt distress," the statement said. Already in 2013, China launched its BRI project to strengthen business lines with the rest of the world and spends significant resources on infrastructure development in dozens of countries around the world. However, EU officials have privately said that the funding conditions offered by Beijing are often unfavorable or non-transparent. They make some of the poorer countries, especially in Africa, dependent on China through debt. "Without proper transparency, good governance and high standards, projects may be poorly selected or designed, may remain incomplete or may be used to incite corruption. This not only hampers growth and robs local communities, but ultimately creates dependencies that can limit countries' ability to make decisions, ”the Commission said. According to the Commission, its Global Gateway plan will focus on building ties with other countries without creating dependencies. "It will focus on physical infrastructure, such as fiber-optic cables, clean transport corridors, clean electricity transmissions, in order to strengthen digital, transport and energy networks," the Commission said. "It will also provide an enabling environment to ensure that projects work by offering attractive investments and business-friendly conditions, regulatory convergence, standardization, supply chain integration and financial services." The Commission also said that the EU would use its assistance to other countries to advance its own interests and strengthen its supply chains, which were vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. "This will help open up more business opportunities for the EU economy, where some 38 million jobs depend on international trade," she added.