Global Gateway

What Europe can learn from business environment reform in the Western Balkans

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The European Union and the Western Balkans are not separated by a simple divide between good and bad regulation. Across countries, governments have adopted regulatory impact assessment, public consultation, digital services and administrative simplification. The more consequential difference lies in consistent implementation across the full regulatory cycle. EU Member States generally have stronger systems for … Read more

When Evidence is a Matter of Survival: How Evaluation Must Defend Our Democracies

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Fewer than 30 per cent of people worldwide live in a democracy now, down from half twenty years back, and with fake news running riot, evaluation isn’t just paperwork anymore, it’s a proper shield for democracy. Van der Knaap says it’s a two-way street: democracy needs solid, independent evaluation to keep governments honest and accountable, … Read more

New EU Evaluation Policy for External Action: What Changes for Stakeholders and Evaluators

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EU’s new Evaluation Policy for External Action doubles down on accountability, learning and impact – including for Global Gateway investments. Clearer roles, stronger use of evidence and strategic evaluations will make it easier to track what really works in partner countries and why, so Global Gateway can deliver measurable, sustainable connectivity and development impact. The … Read more

Green Industry, Global Ambition: The Belém Declaration and What Comes Next

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At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025, a significant new commitment took shape on the global stage. Backed by over 40 countries and international organisations, the Belém Declaration on Global Green Industrialisation was formally launched at a leaders’ roundtable on industrial decarbonisation — signalling that the world’s industrial transformation is no longer a side … Read more

Circular by Nature: A New Policy Agenda for Bio-Based Materials

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Circular economy and bio-based materials policies have developed in silos for too long. This joint report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the Latin America and Caribbean Circular Economy Coalition proposes a unified five-strategy framework, backed by real business cases, that could unlock USD 10 trillion in annual opportunities by 2030 and deliver a third … Read more

A Digital Bridge Between Europe and Kenya: Opportunities for Connectivity, Youth and Business

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(tl;dr) EU–Kenya Digital Partnership boosts connectivity, skills and innovation, linking youth, schools and SMEs to affordable high-speed internet, AI collaboration and new digital jobs for sustainable, shared growth. Kenya has become the first African country to establish a formal Digital Dialogue with the European Union, a milestone reached in March 2026 that positions this East … Read more

Seeds, Sovereignty and Europe’s Responsibility

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Report from the EU Food Justice Forum, Brussels, 9 June 2026 In a world where multinational agribusinesses increasingly treat food systems as financial markets, smallholder farmers from Zimbabwe, rice breeders from the Philippines and EU parliamentarians gathered in a Brussels conference centre on 9 June 2026. The civil society-organised EU Food Justice Forum placed one … Read more

Evaluation Insights: EU Recovery and Resilience Facility

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Series Evaluation Insights for Policy and Programming (TL;DR) The EU Recovery and Resilience Facility, the EU’s EUR 723.8 billion pandemic recovery instrument, is broadly on track at its halfway point. By end 2023, EUR 225 billion had been disbursed and roughly 75% of planned milestones met, with economic modelling projecting a GDP boost of up … Read more

Plastic Packaging and Food Waste in Latin American Retail

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(TL;DR) A GIZ-commissioned study examines how plastic packaging practices in supermarkets across Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico intersect with food loss and waste (FLW), concluding that material substitution alone cannot solve either crisis: systemic redesign of retail models, supply chains, regulatory frameworks, and consumer engagement must be pursued simultaneously and coherently, since up to 56% of … Read more

Green economy and rural livelihoods in Africa: pathways towards an inclusive transition

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An EADI webinar shows that a genuinely green economy in rural Africa depends on three things working together: locally affordable climate-smart practices for smallholders, coherent national and regional policies that connect research with practice, and climate finance that explicitly supports a just transition with strong community agency. It highlights how programmes like the Great Green … Read more

Global Gateway as Geopolitical Tool: What Changes for Development Policy

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Europe’s latest Foreign Affairs Council in its Development configuration on 18 May 2026 marks a quiet but significant shift: EU development cooperation is being recast as a geopolitical tool, with Kaja Kallas openly calling for aid, trade and security partnerships to be more tightly aligned with Europe’s strategic interests. A development council in a new … Read more

EPALE: Europe’s Community for Adult Learning

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Karsten Weitzenegger is an active member of EPALE — the Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe, the European Commission’s official hub for professionals working in adult education and continuing training. As a trainer, capacity development specialist, and international consultant who designs learning processes across more than 40 countries, EPALE is not merely a profile … Read more