Commissioner Jozef Síkela, in a written answer on 23 July 2026, defended the EU's Global Gateway strategy while acknowledging concerns that a Chinese state-backed company is bidding for a €320 million EU-funded public transport project in Dakar. Síkela outlined steps to close loopholes and boost EU companies' participation in EU-funded external projects, responding to a parliamentary question from MEPs Kristoffer Storm, Sebastian Tynkkynen, and Dick Erixon (all ECR).
The question arose after a Chinese state-backed firm submitted a bid for a bus tender under the Dakar public transport restructuring project, which aims to link peripheral areas to Bus Rapid Transit and Electric Regional Train corridors operated by European companies Meridiam and SENTER/SNCF. The project, approved in 2022, combines €354 million in a Team Europe approach involving the European Investment Bank (EIB), Agence Française de Développement, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, and the EU. The EU's €20 million grant is managed by the EIB.
Síkela's answer contained both concrete proposals and declarative commitments. He noted that the tender for gas buses is ongoing and under EIB assessment, with exclusion of state-backed firms part of eligibility criteria currently being scrutinised. He pointed to the EIB's 2025 Strategic Procurement Roadmap, which reinforces sustainability, ESG, and quality criteria to level the playing field for EU bidders. More concretely, in the Commission's proposal for the Global Europe Regulation under the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework, the Commission has introduced the option to restrict eligibility rules on a case-by-case basis when justified by the EU's strategic interest. This would allow increasing European companies' participation and restricting competition when needed.
The policy orientation signals a shift toward greater protection of EU strategic interests in external funding, moving from open international competition to conditional eligibility. The Commission is also working with Development Finance Institutions to implement strategic procurement principles and join forces with Export Credit Agencies.
Institutional follow-up is expected as the Global Europe Regulation proposal undergoes legislative negotiations. The EIB's assessment of the Dakar tender will be a near-term test of the new criteria. The Commission's answer suggests that future EU-funded projects may increasingly favour European bidders, addressing the contradiction MEPs highlighted between Global Gateway's strategic aims and current procurement outcomes.