A look back at the Forum on localising Global Gateway

PLATFORMA and its partners participated in the 2023 edition of the “Cities and Regions for International Partnerships: Localising Global Gateway” Forum co-organised by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (INTPA) and the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) from the 29 of November to the 1st of December. 

The contribution of local governments through their decentralised and city-to-city partnerships to locating the European Union’s “Global Gateway”, in order to nurture a territorial approach to development to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, was at the heart of the Forum which brought together local administrators from the EU, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The Global Gateway, the EU’s international cooperation strategy

Launched at the end of 2021, the European Union’s Global Gateway strategy aims to develop intelligent, clean and secure links in the fields of digital technology, energy and transport, and to strengthen health, education and research systems worldwide. A strategy in line with the Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, around which €300 billion will be mobilised by 2027.

To implement this “Global Gateway”, the European Union intends to mobilise a wide range of public, private and civil society levers. It also intends to focus strongly on a territorial approach, as close to the ground as possible, in which local authorities have a key role to play.

“In these troubled times, the leaders of local and regional authorities are on the front line, the main agents of change on the ground. They are the ones who can really make a difference for citizens,” said Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships, during the opening at the European Parliament. “With civil society and local authorities integrated into the implementation of Global Gateway, ensuring that Team Europe meets the highest standards on the ground, I am convinced that Global Gateway will be a game changer”.

It is estimated that 65% of the 169 targets underpinning the 17 SDGs of the 2030 Global Agenda will not be achieved without appropriate engagement and coordination with local and regional authorities. The “New European Consensus on Development” had already recognised regional and local authorities as key players in development policy, to support and strengthen policies under the 5 Priorities known as the “5Ps”, i.e. People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership.

Four “I’s” on the Forum programme

The exchanges promoted by the Forum were organised around four key “I’s”:

• Innovative solutions and proposals for sustainable cities and regions
• Inclusive answers to the citizens’ participation
• Investment tools and access to finance and connectivity at the local level
• Intermediary cities attracting youth for their future through a better education and a cultural offer

More information on the Forum can be found here.

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