Czech Commissioner Jof Sickela leads international cooperation in the EU with the budget 300,000 million from 2021 to 2027 For your powerful tool Global gatewaysThe field in its passage through Seville during the Conference on Financing United Nations to Financing United Nations, the climate of reductions to help in the development even between the countries of the European Union – in addition to the United States of Trump – was able to Palpat and advocated European leadership Based on the values with which the trade union was built, and integrates to help for development in private capital through new formulas. What does not work, Sickela says, does not invest in this area. Not only for solidarity, but also for Elementary strategic intelligence: Development is a long stability.
What assessment can we make with a global gateway?
A good metric to evaluate the progress of the global gateway is the number of mobilized means, as this means that we can develop shocking and reliable projects. For three years, we managed to mobilize about 190,000 million euros in investments, which is more than half of the target in the amount of 300,000 million set by 2027. Currently, more than 250 specific projects are valid, from green hydrogen in Namibia to digital infrastructure in Central Asia and the production of a vaccine in Africa.Global Gateway is also a shift in paradigm in our development in the field of development. We must understand that these are strategic investments that generate local opportunities, promoting the interests of Europe: from stability to energy security and access to critical raw materials. That is why I call Global Gateway a geopolitical strategy: we combine economic superiority and leadership in the field of development of Europe with political commitment.
Ursula von der Lane in Seville spoke about the need to develop assistance in creating chains of values in local territories, and not about the colonialist concept of this type of financing. Does the European Union achieve this?
We develop our projects not only to offer infrastructure or product, but also to supplement them with human development and pay special attention to local added value. For example, Africa represents only 1.5 to 2% of production with additional cost around the world. Many countries still export without processing raw materials, thereby losing the opportunity to generate wealth. Because it is processing that really creates prosperity for society. The global gateway changes it. We invest in processing, in skills, in production, not only in prey. Global Gateway is based on what we call 360 ° approach: the combination of physical infrastructure with the formation, training, management and local cost chains.Take the lake corridor as an example. We not only build a railway between Angola, RDC and Zambia. We also invest in professional training as part of the Prospera program, maintain education in areas adapted to local conditions, and help local enterprises gain great value in the region. This is what distinguishes us from others, and we must continue in this direction.
“U.S. reduction has serious consequences, but Europe will remain a reliable partner and principles”
Is it possible to maintain the current development concept for development without the participation of the United States? Did multilaterality with Trump die?
Help in reducing the United States, of course, has serious consequences. But this does not change our approach. We must remain effective and create influence. And we will do it. Europe will still be a reliable partner and with the principles that fulfill its obligations.Together with member states, we provide 42% of all the help in development around the world. But the world has changed, and must also change our method of work. That is why we are building a new model in the framework of Global Gateway: the unification of state subsidies, loans, guarantees and private investments to make more costs.We are not naive. In the world of systemic rivalry and budget reduction, we need that each euro calculates both from a geopolitical point of view and from development. But we continue to believe in the system based on the rules, and we are working to modernize it. Development should remain a common responsibility.That is why it is so important to maintain multilaterality. We live on the same planet, we share the same problems, the same processes affect us, and the reaction of one affects others. That’s why we need to work together.
Do you think the situation can still be redirected?
The Seville Conference showed one thing: the international community knows what is put on the card. Development is a common responsibility for global stability. We must return this understanding into our countries and turn it into a specific policy.I want to focus on what Europe does, and on our results. We must cite for example and show the world that there is an alternative to the logic of zero amount that many are promoting now. This alternative is an association based on mutual advantages.
Human rights, sustainable development, versatility … are concepts built from Western and European culture. Do we refuse these values? Who will fill this void?
At all. Global Gateway is a strategy based on values, because our values are our assets. But we should not impose them. We must demonstrate that they give better results. That our values mean real progress. And, above all, we must lead with an example.
Should we already abandon the goal of achieving the goals of 2030 around the world?
One of the basic management rules is to establish achieved goals. Because if impossible goals are set, the course is lost. This is what we do not allow in debates about sustainable development. Yes, we are delayed, the investment gap is currently about 4 billion euros per year, and forecasts indicate that we will reach less than 30% of the CUR.However, this does not mean that we must give up. Against. We must change our approach. State funds are not enough. We must attract private capital, agree on efforts between subjects and focus on real impact on the region.
“State funds are not enough, we must attract private capital”
How do you evaluate development emissions in European countries?
Europe provides 42% of world development, significantly exceeding its participation in the world’s GDP and even more compared to its population. We are proud of this leadership. But I also understand the pressure on national budgets: inflation, energy, protection, demographic changes.
Despite this, we must remember that the reduction in financing development is similar to refusing to fix a drop on the roof in order to save on plumbing. In the end, it comes out more. Development is investment in stability, safety and stability. That is why we need to adjust the method of using development tools. Through Global Gateway, we create conditions for private capital to intervene and make our efforts more shocking.This means supporting loans for development with guarantees, helping to cover the risks of exchange, strengthen the institutional potential in partner countries and maintain transparent and fair regulatory frames.
Can an increase in defense costs be the last blow? Guterres has already launched a warning about this in Seville.
I think that human nature is to first focus on the most direct threat. And for Europe, this threat is Russia and its aggressive behavior. Preparing for this threat, of course, is a priority. But we also know that development is necessary, not only from solidarity, but also because it is important for long -term stability. These two areas should go hand in hand.
“This is not about solidarity: it is a strategic investment.
To what extent will political polarization affect in some states the general EU policy on the agenda of 2030, development in development, etc.?
From my point of view, human development should not be a polarization problem. It would be dangerous. But this is true: the development is not ideological. This is strategic. These are jobs to prevent irregular migration, guarantee economic safety, support our industrial base and our competitiveness.We must explain this to voters. This is not about solidarity: these are strategic investments. This is not the idea of left or progressive: it is just an intellectual strategy.Global gateways are part of this change. He rethinks development as something that benefits not only our partners, but also the competitiveness of Europe, its energy security and geopolitical position.
Do you think that Seville’s commitment reacts to true expectations and current needs?
One thing is clear: the statements are not enough. We need action. We need practical ideas that bring real benefits for real people and have an influence that we expect.We need strategies at the local level – for example, as a better use of money transfers, for example, through an agreement that we sign with FIDA here in Seville.We also need initiatives at the macro level that unite state and private resources, and which integrate human development into large infrastructure projects.And finally, we must continue to study new methods of mobilizing private capital and offer investors a stable and predictable profit, while we use their means to support development.
