Faced with a geopolitical context marked by “strategic competition”, the European Union and America have an “historic opportunity” to strengthen their alliance by basing it on a rationale of strategic autonomy and defence of multilateralism, said the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) on Tuesday 23 September in a resolution adopted by a comfortable majority (39 votes in favour, 17 against and 14 abstentions).
According to MEPs, this partnership must be based on shared values, such as respect for human rights, territorial integrity, sustainable development, social justice, gender equality and the preservation of biodiversity. It will also have to be balanced, they added, to oppose investments made by China in the region, which they believe are increasing its influence by making Latin American countries “dependent on Chinese capital”.
At the EU/CELAC summit on 9 and 10 November in Santa Marta (Colombia), the participating countries are invited to anchor this approach in specific projects and in the creation of a “permanent institutional space” which, between biennial summits, would strengthen operational coordination and monitoring of the commitments that have been made. At the same time, another permanent mechanism should be set up to facilitate consultation with civil society stakeholders, according to the AFET Committee.
Mercosur. MEPs emphasised the “geopolitical importance” of adopting the EU/Mercosur trade agreement, which they describe as a “game changer” for the relationship between the two regions (see other news). They welcome the inclusion in the agreement of a binding clause designed to meet the commitments of the Paris Climate Agreement.
According to the parliamentary committee, the bilateral Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on critical raw materials are “crucial” for promoting the diversification of supply chains and the socially and environmentally responsible exploitation of resources.
MEPs have said they are “very concerned” about the resurgence of populism and authoritarianism in Latin America, pointing to human rights violations by the “Nicaraguan, Cuban and Venezuelan” regimes. They are calling for the adoption of new European sanctions targeting those responsible for these violations in Cuba (see EUROPE 13486/9) and for an extension of existing sanctions against Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua (see EUROPE 13579/14). They also noted that, according to the European Parliament, Edmundo González Urrutia is the legitimate President of Venezuela (see EUROPE 13564/18).
The draft report will be put to the vote at one of the two plenary sessions to be held in October. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)