The leaders of the Member States of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean will meet in Brussels on Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 July for the third EU/CELAC summit, the first since 2015 (see EUROPE 11333/1).
This summit, which the European Commission and the Presidency of the European Council have been preparing for a long time, and which the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU is keen to host, will aim to relaunch “a chosen partnership” between two regional groupings with historic socio-economic relations, which advocate multilateralism as a means of tackling global challenges such as the fight against climate change.
On Friday 14 July, the final list of leaders attending the summit had not yet been finalised. On the Latin American side, 26 of the 33 Latin American and Caribbean leaders have confirmed their attendance, with Peru and Mexico represented by their foreign ministers. Nicolas Maduro, who has been criticised for interfering in the electoral process, is also unlikely to come to Brussels.
One of the successes of the summit will be to set up, as proposed by the Europeans (see EUROPE 13196/15), “a light structure” to facilitate regular dialogue between the two partners, as CELAC does not have a permanent secretariat, unlike the African Union. This structure would facilitate meetings between high-level officials, foreign affairs ministers and EU/CELAC summits to be held every two years, notably in Colombia in 2025.
Discussions aimed at finalising the joint declaration will continue over the weekend in order to produce a text that is shorter than initially planned, but “more political in nature”, according to a European source, who is convinced that the gap between the respective positions is narrowing.
Among the political messages that remain controversial is the reference to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is not expected in Brussels. The Europeans are trying to convince their Latin American and Caribbean partners of the importance of a strong language, while countries such as Brazil are refusing to openly take sides with Ukraine.
Russia’s military aggression is causing “collateral damage” that is exacerbating “fragile supply chains and food insecurity” worldwide, noted a European source. She confirmed Europe’s desire to include in the declaration a reference to the fact that the war in Ukraine violates the principles and values on which the international order is based, in line with the position that a very large majority of Latin American countries have supported when voting on resolutions at the United Nations General Assembly.
According to a French presidential source, the summit will also be an opportunity to turn the spotlight on countries in deep political crisis, such as Venezuela, Nicaragua and Haiti. It will also serve to reaffirm European support for the peace process in Colombia.
Numerous documents, financing agreements and projects will be signed on the sidelines of the summit. In particular, the EU would like to establish regular bilateral dialogue with countries, such as El Salvador and Honduras, for which such mechanisms do not yet exist.
On Friday, the Commission also announced the release of €43 million in humanitarian aid for Latin America and the Caribbean in 2023.
New bilateral economic partnerships
A number of bilateral economic partnerships will be signed on the sidelines of the summit.
This will be the case for a Memorandum of Understanding on critical raw materials with Chile, and two others on energy with Argentina and Uruguay. The Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) approved the decision for these three protocols on Friday 14 July. Promoting the EU’s strategic autonomy, these partnerships strengthen ties with third countries that share the same values and are rich in the resources needed to make a success of the climate and digital transitions.
Trade and investment between the two blocs, more generally, are among the subjects of the EU/CELAC summit, with a forum between businesses from the two regions due to be held on Monday morning.
However, the question of making progress on some of the agreements currently being negotiated – first and foremost those with Mexico and Mercosur – is still being debated. At this stage, the EU’s main concern is to keep the focus on the agreements. Despite bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit, no breakthroughs are to be expected, according to two European diplomats.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will meet the Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on Monday to take stock of Brasília’s position on the ongoing discussions.
Brazil is currently drafting a counter-proposal to the additional letter proposed by the EU on the EU/Mercosur agreement (see EUROPE 13215/27, 13209/37). This response will then have to be submitted to the other three Mercosur countries before being forwarded to the Commission.
The Mercosur countries, led by Brazil, are concerned about recent European legislation, such as the regulation against deforestation imported into the EU and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which are perceived as unilateral measures that could penalise the Mercosur countries and thus affect the trade relations that the free trade agreement is intended to facilitate.
According to a European official, the response from the Mercosur countries will be an opportunity to put their concerns on paper and then discuss them. “We will be ready to negotiate as soon as we receive their reaction”, said this source. He added that the aim is still to conclude these negotiations before the end of the year.
As for the modernisation of the EU/Mexico agreement, discussions are still underway between the two parties, with the aim of concluding discussions before the end of the year (see EUROPE 13203/21).
The EIB will also announce the signing of several loan agreements totalling €800 million to finance projects to combat climate change in Argentina, Brazil and Chile, as part of the Global Gateway initiative. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion and Léa Marchal)