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EU wants to rival China’s belt and road in Africa, but will deeds match words?
- EU plans for upcoming Africa summit in Brussels include launch of ‘ambitious’ package, after Global Gateway pledge to mobilise up to €300 billion
- Divisions within the bloc on how much and what to fund risk reducing it all to a simple rebranding of existing project allocations, observers warn
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With less than two weeks to go until the sixth EU-African Union summit, European Union members remain split on how to come up with a financial package able to rival China’s multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative.
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EU plans for the February 17-18 summit in Brussels include the launch of “an ambitious Africa-Europe investment package, taking into account global challenges such as climate change and the current health crisis”.
In December, the 27-member bloc announced it would mobilise up to €300 billion (US$343.5 billion) in public and private investments around the world by 2027. Working out to €60 billion a year, the funds would be used to help emerging economies heal from the coronavirus pandemic, which has pushed many African countries into debt distress.
Dubbed the Global Gateway, the plan is a response to China’s growing economic and political clout in Africa via its transcontinental belt and road infrastructure and investment strategy, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pitching it as a “true alternative”.
The European Union – with the backing of French President Emmanuel Macron, holder of the EU’s six-month rotating presidency until June – had proposed an initial annual investment package worth €20 billion for African infrastructure.
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