17/07/2000 (Agence Europe) - The Commissioner for external relations, Chris Patten, defended himself for having somewhat let down Latin America, at a lunch on Monday with all the Latin-American ambassadors to the EU. Some days after the Spanish memorandum on the subject (see EUROPE of 12 July, p. 8), Chris Patten stressed that his ambition was to have a "realistic" policy, avoiding the "effects of announcements", limiting himself to what the Commission could actually manage. Chris Patten was invited to go to Central America early 2001. He will be in Argentina, Brazil and Chile in November.