In Brussels on Tuesday 17 July, the foreign affairs ministers of the European Union, Latin America and Caribbean fiercely reaffirmed the importance of multilateralism for dealing with current global challenges such as climate change.
Both High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and El Salvador's Foreign Minister Carlos Castaneda highlighted the consolidation of multilateralism at international level, notably through a reform of the United Nations.
"We are ready to deal with the current international context and new global challenges together, as well as to continue strengthening multilateralism", the 60 or so ministers stated, who were meeting for the first time since 2016.
Such statements run counter to the resolve of US President Donald Trump to challenge the legitimacy of the international organisations that his country helped set up after the second world war.
As well as defending multilateralism, Mogherini spoke about two other priorities of the EU-Latin America strategic partnership – "sustainable development", which will have to be the guiding principle of the negotiations on the post-Cotonou agreement with the Caribbean countries (see EUROPE 12047), and "the fight against protectionism" through open and balanced trade relations.
Mogherini hailed the progress made in the negotiations with Mexico (see EUROPE 12007) and called for swift results in the ongoing negotiations with Mercosur (see other article).
The ministers furthermore said they were concerned about the growing tension within the multilateral trading system, and would like to work together to resolve this tension and strengthen the WTO. They also reiterated their opposition to the continuing US embargo against Cuba.
As regards climate issues, the ministers committed to ensuring that COP24, to be held in Poland in the autumn, leads to an agreement on a solid and balanced work programme enabling the Paris Agreement to be implemented.
The EU, Latin America and the Caribbean also decided to deepen their dialogue on migration issues in order to develop a specific roadmap. The ministers say cooperation in this domain must involve the countries of origin, of transit and of destination, including as regards the return and readmission of illegal migrants in dignified conditions.
During the debates the previous day, the political crises in Venezuela and Nicaragua were discussed, with these two countries defending their position and other states speaking of their concern. The situation in Nicaragua was furthermore the subject of a specific declaration on Tuesday (see other article).
"Yesterday, two subjects – Venezuela and Nicaragua – made their appearance. They were not on the agenda, but several countries from the Lima Group mentioned them. A few criticisms were raised by the Lima Group against Venezuela and this animated the session a little", Spain's Foreign Minister Josep Borrell stated.
In addition, when asked by press about the possible holding of the next EU-CELAC summit after the cancellation of that of 2017 in San Salvador (see EUROPE 11866), Mogherini did not rule this out "in a few months". Closing the debates, the Bolivian delegation then spoke of its readiness.
The EU and CARIFORUM signed a €14 million assistance agreement on Tuesday to support the Caribbean countries with their reconstruction after the Hurricane Irma. An envelope of €10 million will also be granted to Guatemala to support the reconstruction of areas affected by the recent eruption of a volcano, and €12 million will be granted to Peru to strengthen its fight against drug trafficking and organised crime.
The Dominican Republic and Grenada also signed an agreement establishing the Eurolat Foundation as an international organisation, bringing the number of members of the foundation to 57.
The European Commission will unveil a new strategy in the autumn that is due to update and guide Euro-Latin American relations in the medium term.
The text of the declaration can be consulted at: https://bit.ly/2uIj0sb . (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with Carmen García)