SolarPower Europe hosts EU Global Gateway Workshop on strengthening European solar competitiveness

The event brought together representatives from the European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB), development finance institutions (DFIs), development agencies, and the European solar industry. Participants discussed how the Global Gateway can deliver mutually beneficial cooperation for partner countries, while simultaneously strengthening Europe’s competitiveness and strategic autonomy in the solar sector.
 

The discussion took place against the backdrop of a broader paradigm shift from traditional development cooperation towards an investment‑led approach. This new model combines public policy objectives, private sector engagement, blended finance, and technical cooperation to scale sustainable investment globally. 

Máté Heisz, Chief Operating Officer of SolarPower Europe, opened the workshop by highlighting the importance of the new Global Gateway approach for the solar sector. He underlined that the paradigm shift represents a clear opportunity for European solar companies to contribute to, and benefit from, EU development cooperation, while reinforcing the impact of investments in partner countries. 

Erica Gerretsen, Director at the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA), then set the scene by outlining the origins and rationale of the Global Gateway. Reflecting on lessons learned during the COVID‑19 pandemic, she explained how the need for strategic autonomy in critical sectors such as energy led to a shift from traditional development cooperation towards a European investment strategy built around value chains, private sector engagement, and mutual interest.  

Francisco Gaztelu, Director at the Directorate-General for Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf (DG MENA), reinforced the message that Europe can remain competitive in global solar markets, but only through continuous alignment between public policy and private sector action. He underlined that the Global Gateway provides a common framework for mobilising investment and delivering concrete results, stressing the need for pragmatism and speed.  
 

Discussions underlined the importance of identifying those segments of the solar value chain where Europe holds clear comparative advantages and of deploying policy, financial, and cooperation tools in a more coordinated manner. Participants also highlighted the need to move beyond isolated projects towards more integrated and ecosystem‑based approaches, particularly for solar and clean technology deployment, in order to compete effectively in global markets. 

During the workshop, Nicoleta Lipcaneanu, Project Officer at SolarPower Europe, presented the association’s newly released position paper. It sets out practical recommendations to strengthen EU development cooperation, including enhanced risk mitigation, improved support for early‑stage project development, stronger coordination between finance institutions, increased transparency within the Global Gateway Investment Hub, and closer integration of financial instruments with technical cooperation. 

The first roundtable, moderated by Thomas Garabetian, Head of Innovation and Global Partnerships at SolarPower Europe, focused on the evolving role of EU development finance. Contributions from DG INTPA, DG MENA, Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST), and the European Investment Bank (EIB) explored how targeted financial instruments, strategic procurement, and early engagement can better support European solar companies internationally, while maintaining compliance with procurement frameworks and sustainability requirements. The solar industry underlined the need to create a comprehensive European offer, reinforcing EU strengths within the solar value chain, including strong technical cooperation and enabling ecosystems, to become more competitive globally.  

Moreover, tighter EU content rules would help boost European solar competitiveness and better drive EU jobs and revenues. In terms of upstream segments, it was demanded to push for stronger support for EU solar manufacturing within the Global Gateway (e.g. treat equipment providers and cell and module manufacturing as strategically important, incl. next generation tech). From the downstream side, the main asks were about bankability and early-stage support (e.g. more concessional finance, more risk mitigation tools, and pre-development grants/feasibility funding) to move projects from pipeline to bankable transactions and reduce cost of capital. Also, it was proposed to shift from purely project-by-project funding towards multi-project and corporate-level approach to scale impact faster (especially for big utilities and developers). 

The second roundtable examined the role of technical cooperation and development agencies, opened by Jean Van Wetter, CEO of Enabel. He emphasised the value of technical assistance in strengthening regulatory frameworks, improving project preparation, building local capacity, and enabling more bankable investments. Participants underlined that European actors could differentiate themselves by offering integrated approaches combining technology, finance, skills, and long‑term partnerships. 
 

Closing the workshop, SolarPower Europe reaffirmed its commitment to continued dialogue with EU institutions, finance and development actors, and industry stakeholders. The association announced next steps including targeted follow‑up discussions, continued policy engagement, and the identification of concrete pilot projects across manufacturing and deployment segments to demonstrate the added value of the Global Gateway approach. 

A big thank you to all speakers and participants for a constructive and forward-looking discussion on the future of Europe’s solar sector in global markets! 
 

If you are interested in joining the Global Markets workstream please contact Nicoleta Lipcaneanu, Project Officer at the Innovation and Global Partnerships Team, at  n.lipcaneanu@solarpowereurope.org.