The European Commission presented, Wednesday 1is December, Global Gateway, an investment strategy of 300 billion euros in favor of developing countries. For the Spanish press, there is no doubt thatEU seeks to assert itself on the geopolitical scene against China.
The European Union is a head-on competitor of the new Chinese Silk Roads. Wednesday 1is December, the European Commission announced a public and private investment plan called Global Gateway, which should mobilize 300 billion euros by 2027 and make it possible to finance infrastructure projects around the world, for example in transport or the implementation of optical fiber.
As the Barcelona daily reminds us The vanguard, “Eight years have passed since Xi Jinping, during a visit to Central Asia, announced his plan to revitalize the old Silk Road”. The Chinese project has since resulted in loans “Generally opaque” in favor, in particular, of developing countries, continues the center-right newspaper.
Several European countries, such as Italy and Greece, have signed agreements with China in recent years. Since 2016, the port of Piraeus has been in the hands of the Chinese port operating company Cosco, which wants to make it a gateway to the new silk routes to the European Union.
“Washington and Brussels are worried about this Chinese advance and have sought partners in the Asian region, such as India, to try to balance the scales”, completes the Spanish site The confidential.
“Democracy, rule of law, ecological sustainability”
Westerners fear that “Investments in infrastructure in African countries or in the neighborhood of the European Union are not a way for Beijing to obtain negotiating leverage in key areas, and for China’s Asian neighbors to become dependent on the government of Xi Jinping ”, adds the online media.
The European initiative presented on Wednesday has a clear “Geostrategic vocation”, hammers The vanguard. The European document “Do not mention China once […], but leaves no room for doubt as to the identity of the target targeted by the European plan ”.
For The country, Spanish center-left daily, Global Gateway is “A means of promoting the values of the Union: democracy, rule of law, ecological sustainability”.
One question remains: where will the money come from? The Commission indicates that 135 billion euros will come from the European Development Fund and 25 billion from the European Investment Bank. This sum will be supplemented by 18 billion euros in subsidies. The rest will be obtained through other European financial and development aid institutions, according to the EU executive. Brussels hears “Involve the Member States in the funding”, concludes The country.
Valentin Scholz
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