The leaders of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean rekindled ties severed by the Covid-19 pandemic and the lack of political will, on Monday 17 July in Brussels at the start of the first day of the EU/CELAC summit. The stated aim is to focus on subjects of mutual interest - the fight against climate change, investment, the fight against social inequalities, security and multilateralism - while ensuring that divisive issues such as Ukraine do not short-circuit the work.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, stressed the importance of discussions at the highest political level “in a spirit of mutual respect”. He said that “no one wants to lecture anyone”, hoping that the summits with the Latin American and Caribbean countries could once again be held every 2 years. According to the Brazilian President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the summit should serve to “send a clear signal to the world that strategically important regions such as Europe and CELAC have an agenda for cooperation, increased trade and investment”.
“We’re not starting from scratch, but the current political context, the climate emergency and the profound social inequalities require us to make efforts and adapt bi-regional cooperation to challenges that don’t allow us any delay”, said the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez. He slipped away on Thursday evening to campaign in Huesca, Spain, and to return in time to take part in the second day of work.
A number of concrete agreements were reached on the sidelines of the summit. However, the number and diversity of the participating countries make it difficult to achieve a common understanding and to speak with one voice. As proof of this, the drafting of the summit’s final declaration did not appear to have been finalised late on Monday afternoon, and a new meeting of the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) could be called to continue the drafting process, even if the likelihood of this had diminished, according to a diplomatic source.
One of the sticking points is the reference to Russian military aggression against Ukraine. The Europeans are pushing for this declaration to include at least one reference to the violation of the fundamental principles and values of the UN Charter. “We are still talking”, admitted Mr Michel, noting that “a vast majority” of EU and CELAC countries had condemned the Russian invasion when adopting resolutions at the United Nations General Assembly.
The Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, whose country holds the pro tempore presidency of CELAC, did not venture to anticipate the outcome of the current negotiations. He noted that individual Latin American and Caribbean countries, like his own, had condemned Russia’s military aggression, “but others abstained or took a different stance”. In his view, the presence in Brussels of the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, would not necessarily have been useful.
Mr Gonsalves also expressed the hope that the final text would address “the historical legacy of genocide and slavery” and possible forms of reparation. On Friday 14 July, a European diplomatic source suggested that a solution could refer to the 2001 Durban Declaration.
Political partnerships
On Monday, three Memorandums of Understanding were signed between the EU and Ecuador, El Salvador and Honduras to strengthen political dialogue with these three countries.
In the case of El Salvador and Honduras, the aim is to organise regular consultations with the EU to “exchange views on subjects and issues of mutual interest”.
The memorandum of understanding with Ecuador goes further: it identifies eight priorities to be pursued in bilateral relations, including the environment, socio-economic issues, migration and investment. The EU also hopes that this Memorandum of Understanding will pave the way for a potential comprehensive bilateral political agreement with Quito.
Economic partnerships
More specifically, the EU has also ratified a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Argentina on energy. It sets out avenues for cooperation on renewable energy, hydrogen and methane emissions. The aim is for the two partners to work together to develop and promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. They are also committed to reducing methane leaks in the fossil gas supply chain.
To see the MoU with Argentina: https://aeur.eu/f/84m
On Tuesday, the EU and Chile are due to sign an MoU, this time focusing on critical raw materials (see EUROPE 13177/15).
At previous European summits, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed the importance of establishing ‘win-win’ agreements whereby the raw materials extracted are also processed in Latin America before being exported to the EU.
The EU/Mercosur agreement
The most significant economic partnership has yet to be formalised. Although the EU/Mercosur trade agreement is the subject of much interest at the start of the summit, it is not expected to benefit from any concrete progress during the summit. The meeting is above all “an opportunity to listen to each other and understand each other better”, said Mr Michel.
The EU is currently waiting to hear back from the Mercosur countries following its proposal for an additional letter to the agreement (see EUROPE 13148/21). It sets out the obligations of both parties in terms of sustainable development. On Friday, Brazil sent a provisional version of the counter-proposal to the other three Mercosur countries. This will form the basis for further discussions between the two blocs.
The EU and Mercosur are still cultivating the hope of reaching an agreement before the end of 2023, as reaffirmed by President Lula, Prime Minister Sánchez and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
For the Brazilian President, it is important that the EU “understands the need to protect the way of life of the 50 million people who live in the Amazon rainforest”. He underlined his country’s ambition to produce renewable energy and put an end to deforestation by 2030. He also criticised the EU’s attitude under the agreement, which, in his view, consists of imposing environmental standards accompanied by sanctions (see EUROPE 13199/14, 13209/37).
On the agreement with Mercosur, “Austria’s position is clear”, reiterated Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, referring to the national parliament’s opposition to ratification of the agreement as it stands. He said he was awaiting responses to the European proposal.
‘Global Gateway’
Ahead of the summit, Ms von der Leyen announced a €45 billion investment package for Latin America and the Caribbean up to 2027 as part of the ‘Global Gateway’ initiative. The funding is intended to support projects in the critical raw materials, digital and transport sectors.
In addition, the European Investment Bank (EIB) will finance climate action projects to the tune of €800 million in Argentina (200 million), Chile (300 million) and Brazil (300 million).
On the sidelines of the EU/CELAC summit, the European Parliament reiterated its intention to open a European Parliament office in Latin America and the Caribbean. This decision contributes to strengthening the parliamentary dimension in the EU’s external representations, with a focus on multilateral parliamentary assemblies and international organisations, it said in a press release. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal and Mathieu Bion)