Latin America, among strategic investment objectives of the EU in 2023

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, convened today the first meeting of the Global “Gateway” Board to analyze the achievements of the first year of implementation of this plan with which the European Union wants to counteract the new route of the Chinese silk and identify projects for 2023 in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Pacific.

“Global Gateway”, which aspires to mobilize 300,000 million investments until 2027, is “above all a geopolitical project, which seeks to position Europe in a competitive international market”, since “investments in infrastructure are at the center of current geopolitics, Von der Leyen said in a statement.

“One year later, our ‘Global Gateway’ strategy is working. With many projects underway, from solar plants to digital cables, and more to comeVon der Leyen added on Twitter.

And, in front of “many investment offers”, that of the EU is “only“because the partners”can trust”, assured the head of the Community Executive in a clear allusion to that of China.

“Spain supports the strategy to promote sustainable development, strengthen the EU as a global actor and promote our values ​​and principles in the world”, tweeted, for his part, the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, one of the attendees at the meeting of the “Global Gateway” Board.

Albares stressed that Latin America and Africa are the “priority destinations” for EU investment projects.

Since the launch of the “Global Gateway” strategy, more than €9 billion in grants from the EU budget have been committed for key investments in all identified sectors in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and Pacific.

For the regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific, Brussels plans to present next Thursday 40 project portfolios from European Financial Institutions for approval by the Operating Board under the European Fund for Sustainable Development plus (EFSD+), which will be it is expected to generate more than 50 billion euros in investments in key sectors.

Under the EFSD+ guarantee agreement signed in May with the European Investment Bank, for a total of 26.7 billion euros of guarantees to cover EIB sovereign loans in sectors such as clean energy, green infrastructure and health, 34 have already been approved. projects worth 7,400 million euros in investments.

Regarding the Western Balkans and the Southern and Eastern Neighbourhood, the EU, together with the European financial institutions, has mobilized to date 14 billion euros of the 77 billion in total investments that are expected to be leveraged until 2027, he said. Brussels.

The European Commission highlighted that this investment strategy is “firmly underway”, with “key” projects to boost digital connectivity through submarine data cables and land connections between the EU and its partners, to increase the production of renewable energy. with investments in solar plants and wind farms and to increase, for example, the access and manufacture of vaccines, medicines and health technologies.

As examples, Brussels highlighted in the digital sector the 7,100-kilometre Medusa fiber optic submarine cable with a total investment of 342 million euros, including an EU grant of 40 million euros, to connect Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. and Cyprus, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, as well as the extension of the BELLA fiber optic submarine and terrestrial cable from Portugal to Central America and the Caribbean and the start-up of Earth Observation Centers in Panama through the eService of EU Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring.

In the energy sector, the Commission highlighted the Transbalkan Electric Corridor to connect the transport system from Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina to Croatia, Hungary, Romania and Italy, with an estimated total investment of 41.2 million euros, as well as photovoltaic plants. in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia and wind farms in North Macedonia and Serbia.

The EU has also signed green hydrogen and critical raw materials partnerships with Namibia and Kazakhstan and a green hydrogen partnership with Egypt and will support the Just Transition Partnership with Indonesia and South Africa with €2.4 billion and €3 billion respectively.

In terms of strategic transport corridors, investments so far include two railway projects in the Western Balkans, while in the health sector more than €1 billion has been earmarked to support access and manufacturing of vaccines, medicines and health technologies in Africa.