Between Patronage and Donorship: Global Gateway and its Vis-a-vie in Eurasia

This article examines geoeconomic leadership as a narrative of the EU foreign policy towards different countries. The article analyses the European discourse of leadership, which is associated with sovereignty/autonomy as the management of interdependence. The ongoing debate has not yet reached a consensus on its exact objectives and scope. However, it describes systemic pressures and competing interests of the EU Member States as the main variables in the leadership narrative in the EU political system. The EU’s Global Gateway strategy aims to improve ties with countries around the world by adopting a pragmatic approach to sectoral cooperation. The article criticizes the Global Gateway strategy as a new approach, but raises concerns about its viability in the Eurasian space. It is evident that the EU seeks to compete with China’s Belt and Road Initiative and other influential players in both the regional and global arenas in order to regain its global position. However, the Global Gateway strategy appears to reflect the evolving discourse around EU sovereignty at the national level. The article provides a comprehensive overview of the Global Gateway strategy in a broader macro-regional context, with a particular focus on the challenges and inconsistencies between the immediate and long-term objectives of EU foreign policy.