Discussing Global Gateway priorities with EU leaders

Ahead of the Global Gateway Forum (9–10 October), European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hosted a high-level meeting with members of the Global Gateway Business Advisory Group – representing the European business community – to discuss advancing the EU’s global investment agenda.

Trade and international relations Development

Commissioners Jozef Síkela (International Partnerships), Marta Kos (Neighbourhood and Enlargement), and Dubravka Šuica (Mediterranean), as well as Koen Doens, Director-General for International Partnerships at the European Commission, also took part in the exchange.

The meeting provided an important opportunity to reflect on how the Group has strengthened the role of the European private sector in delivering the Global Gateway strategy, the EU’s flagship initiative to promote sustainable and trusted connections in partner countries. Speaking on behalf of the Digital subgroup, our President Fredrik Persson underlined that digitalisation, alongside the green transition, is shaping the global economy of the 21st century.

He stressed, however, that Europe risks falling behind unless it invests more strategically and delivers faster on digital projects through Global Gateway. We call for stronger institutional and financial support for strategic infrastructure projects that can deliver trusted and sustainable digital networks in partner countries. These should be backed by frameworks that enable secure data flows while upholding the EU’s high standards on data protection and privacy.

At BusinessEurope, we welcome the Global Gateway initiative increasing focus on private sector involvement. The next step is to ensure that the EU’s strategy and instruments work more effectively for business, strengthening Europe’s global competitiveness while driving sustainable development.