Dutch niches for Global Gateway in the digital domain

An initial inquiry

This Policy Brief explores the status of Global Gateway’s digital projects and initiatives, and identifies four digital strengths through which the Netherlands can contribute to this EU initiative. The Netherlands boasts remarkable economic strength and a strong track record in developing innovative solutions in AgriTech, FinTech, Cybersecurity and Data Centres. Enhanced engagement with emerging economies in these four fields will serve not only partner countries’ development, but will also contribute to the competitiveness of European companies and the spread of liberal norms such as openness, transparency and privacy in the digital domain. As such, Dutch contributions to the digital Global Gateway will contribute to concrete and useful solutions for partner countries that harness digitalisation for sustainable and secure economic development. Second, they will unlock new markets for Dutch companies operating in these sectors. Finally, they will strengthen the EU’s value proposition to third countries, complementing the current Global Gateway focus on hard infrastructure.

The authors

Alexandre Ferreira Gomes, Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute

Maaike Okano-Heijmans, Senior Research Fellow at the Clingendael Institute