The EU’s Pacific Push

By Josh Craughwell

The European Union has pledged nearly €300 million to Pacific island nations in a new investment push under its Global Gateway strategy, a move which further reshapes the region’s development landscape while stressing the growing intersection of aid and influence.

September 2025 saw the inaugural EU-Pacific Business Forum in Fiji, where packages targeting key sectors were announced. Of the total fund, around €53 million is set aside for renewable and sustainable energy, nearly €40 million for infrastructure, and about €27 million for trade and private-sector growth linked to the ‘green and blue’ economy. The fund reflects the pressing need to develop climate resilience and renewable energy in the area, while improving digital and physical infrastructure to secure regional economic growth.

Testament to their remoteness and small domestic markets, Pacific island economies often face deep infrastructure gaps, unforgiving exposure to climate shocks, and dependence on a small number of powerful partners for access to finance. The EU’s entry into the region offers a welcome diversification of financing sources, but shows how the Pacific is increasingly becoming a site of vested global competition.

By joining Australia, China, New Zealand, and the United States in a crowded field of external players competing for influence in the Pacific, the EU’s entry into the geopolitical arena highlights how the latest scramble for influence is unfolding. The EU’s growing interest is not purely economic – France already maintains territories and exclusive zones in Polynesia and New Caledonia, giving the bloc a direct stake in Pacific security. Beyond France, Brussels views engagement in the Pacific as part of a broader strategy to promote its ‘Global Gateway’ vision as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

On the surface, Brussels presents the plan as a ‘win-win’ partnership focused on sustainable growth. Yet, beneath the rhetoric lies a strategic dimension, whereby the EU seeks a stronger geopolitical foothold in a region long dominated by Asia-Pacific powers. For Pacific governments, the challenge will be to extract genuine benefit from the initiative without falling into patterns of external control and influence.

If Pacific states can steer these investments toward local job creation and developing climate-resilient infrastructure, the EU’s funding could be a turning point in achieving long-term national priorities. But as global powers push their presence across the Pacific, from Chinese ports to Australian defence pacts, the region risks being the focal point for 21st-century geopolitical competition. The ultimate test will lie with Pacific nations’ ability to turn this rivalry into leverage, while maintaining their own sovereignty and visions for sustainable growth.