EU Lines Up 70 Projects To Rival CCP’s Belt And Road Initiative

According to reports, the European Union will primarily consider funding 70 infrastructure construction projects in developing countries through its “Global Gateway” program this year. This is a substantive countermeasure to the CCP’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative preventing its military, economic, and global political expansion. Recently, the EU officials discussed the list of priority projects for the first, the report said. There will be further talks this week to finalize the list during the week of Feb. 6, two EU officials said. It was disclosed that the first projects of EU’s Global Gateway include a digital cable under the Black Sea, a submarine optical fiber cable to connect the Mediterranean and Northern African countries, and a dam and hydroelectric power plant in Cameroon. The plan is expected to mobilize 300 billion euros in public and private funding by 2027 to support the EU’s overseas infrastructure projects. Meanwhile, the EU has several projects planned in China’s adjacent regions, such as an energy transition partnership with Indonesia and a digital connectivity project in the Philippines. The same goes for some projects in Russia’s neighboring countries, such as a hydrogen project in Kazakhstan, a transport link in Central Asia, two projects in Mongolia, and a hydro-power plant in Tajikistan. Analysts pointed out that Europe, plagued by the CCP virus pandemic and inflation, is struggling to accelerate the pace of challenge. Some “Global Gateway” projects are considered to be low risk and have quick results. The EU is expected to sign memorandums of understanding or line up financing within this year, and may even begin construction work. Furthermore, the EU will also start laying the groundwork for other projects in the coming years.