In the Working Paper Series of the Asian Development Bank Institute

Prof. Pascha argues that East Asia is setting the pace for the recent trend in regional and interregional integration, which is associated with multilateral infrastructure connectivity initiatives, like the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of the People’s Republic of China and Japan’s “Partnership for Quality Infrastructure” (PQI). While the EU was one of the early movers, with the establishment of the European Investment Bank in 1958 for instance, its mechanisms have so far not become pillars of a coherent and forceful political–economic strategy of the EU. The current European situation is rather one of reacting to a dynamic that other countries elsewhere have created. The paper offers conclusions and policy recommendations for developing a more forceful European strategy.

The paper can be found here: https://www.adb.org/publications/belts-roads-regions-dynamics-infrastructure-connectivity-initiatives