Over 50 civil society organisations raise concerns on the Global Gateway

Today, over 50 civil society organisations are sounding the alarm on the Global Gateway’s impact on the Global South, urging the European Commission and Josef Síkela, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, to move beyond empty branding exercises and build partnerships based on respect for resource sovereignty and genuine development priorities.

The EU institutions claim that Global Gateway promotes global partnerships, but so far in practice, it turns public development and climate finance into a business opportunity for corporations—at the expense of people and the planet.

Instead of investing in public services, climate adaptation, and local economies, the Global Gateway:

• Uses opaque financial tools to mobilise private profit rather than sustainable development.
• Fuels debt distress, making it harder for vulnerable countries to invest in needed social projects.
• Exploits resources in the Global South, particularly through extractive energy and raw material projects that benefit European industries while harming local communities.
• Lacks transparency, as even the European Court of Auditors has warned.

We urge the EU to fulfil its responsibilities by providing high-quality development and climate finance through grants and highly concessional funds, delivering a pro-poor development agenda that fights inequalities rather than deepens them.