EU tries to strengthen relations with Latin America while waiting for Celac

The European Union (EU) held a videoconference with Latin American and Caribbean leaders who are currently at the forefront of regional and subregional organizations, while waiting for Celac to once again have greater cohesion to organize a block-by-block summit that meets its expectations with these partners.

“The leaders’ meeting that we are holding today is an important step towards resuming the dialogue between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean at the highest level, after a six-year hiatus,” said the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, in a Joint statement at the end of the videoconference with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

Michel added that the EU hopes that “it will also be a stage on the road to holding a true bi-regional summit as soon as conditions allow.”

Von der Leyen highlighted the closeness of multilateral values ​​and objectives between the two blocs and assured that the EU “is ready to collaborate with Latin America and the Caribbean with a view to a sustainable, digital and socially inclusive recovery” after the pandemic.

On the Latin American and Caribbean side, Brazil participated, in the “pro tempore” presidency of Mercosur during the second semester of 2021, or Colombia, in that of the Pacific Alliance in 2021, of the Andean Community (CAN) during the first semester of 2021, and the Forum for the Progress of South America (Prosur) in 2021.

Also Costa Rica, at the head of the Central American Integration System (SICA) during the first semester of 2021; Ecuador, of the CAN during the second semester of 2021; Guatemala, from SICA during the second semester of 2021; Mexico, from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) in 2020-2021, and Suriname, from the Caribbean Forum of the Group of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (Cariforum) during the first half of 2021.

In total, seven countries among which were not Cuba, Nicaragua or Venezuela, the latter two sanctioned by the EU due to internal repression and the political crisis they are going through.

The formula of meeting with representatives of regional or sub-regional organizations had previously been alluded to by community sources, given the difficulty of holding an EU-Celac summit (the last one was six years ago) due to internal divisions in the Latin American and Caribbean bloc.

The objective of trying to promote that summit in 2022 is also uncertain, they recently recognized, despite the efforts being made to do so by the high community representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, also present in the videoconference.

In any event, the EU is clear that it must further strengthen ties with the subcontinent, a like-minded key partner that can “play a decisive role in defining the multilateral agenda and addressing global challenges,” acknowledged Michel and Von. der Leyen.

COVID-19 and investments

The motto of this Thursday’s meeting, which follows the one held by the foreign ministers of the two regions last December, was “to join forces for a sustainable recovery after COVID.”

The EU has already provided 3 billion euros for immediate health care for Latin America and the Caribbean and has exported more than 130 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to those countries, the EU recalled.

Looking ahead, the EU said it is willing to support regional initiatives such as the Health Self-Sufficiency Plan for Latin America and the Caribbean, prepared by the United Nations Economic Commission for the region.

The EU has planned for Latin America and the Caribbean 3.4 billion euros of its budget for 2021-2027, while the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus has set itself the objective of mobilizing more than 12 billion euros of public and private investment in the region.

The sustainable recovery after the pandemic, as well as the green and digital transitions are in the sights of the EU also in the region, which also wants its initiative “Global Gateway” to reach, a plan to mobilize up to 300,000 million euros in infrastructure in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia, which is “a true alternative” to the new Chinese Silk Road in the words of Von der Leyen.

According to the EU, this Thursday they pointed out that “a lasting recovery cannot be achieved without respecting human rights” and addressed the need to tackle inequalities, for which the EU wants to launch an initiative in 2022 to respond to challenges structural.