21 January 2026
09:30–11:30 CET,
ECDPM office, 44, avenue des Arts, 1000 Brussels
ECDPM will host an event discussing how more strategic and structured cooperation between the EU and multilateral and regional development banks can strengthen the delivery of the Global Gateway.
Background
Global Gateway aims to align the European Union’s development cooperation with its geostrategic, economic, and industrial priorities. While EU instruments for mobilising private investment have expanded, the EU has insufficiently leveraged the potential and resources of multilateral and regional development banks (MDBs/RDBs). In a context of geopolitical competition and constrained EU budgets, more deliberate engagement with these institutions is strategically necessary. As argued by ECDPM in a recent paper, MDBs offer capabilities to advance Global Gateway objectives: sustained country presence, strong policy dialogue and technical assistance that strengthens regulatory environments where European firms perform well. These banks’ financial firepower, established pipelines, and ability to crowd in public and private capital to complement EU investment endeavours in developing countries, while MDB procurement provides predictable commercial opportunities for EU companies. However, current EU–MDB cooperation is fragmented and often transactional. A more coherent and strategically anchored approach, including structured partnership with MDBs and RDBs, could help deliver Global Gateway 2.0 at scale and reinforce the EU global competitiveness in a mutually beneficial manner for its partner countries and regions. This event will discuss the merits of such a synergetic approach between the EU and MDBs, drawing on current better practices and highlighting concrete new implementation
Agenda
9:30 Welcome and introduction
Dr San Bilal, Executive Director, ECDPM 9:35 Presentation
How can the EU leverage MDBs to advance its geoeconomic interests?
Karim Karaki, Head of the Economic Recovery & Transformation Programme
9:50 Panel discussion
Moderated by Dr San Bilal and Karim Karaki
- Federica Dal Bono, Senior Advisor, INTPA
- Richard Amor, Director Partnerships for Impact, EIB
- William Roos, Managing Director for Corporate Strategy, EBRD
- Mathilde Maury, Director Public Affairs, Nokia
11:00 Q&A session 11:30 End of the event
Register for event and find more information here