Beautiful investments, materials and pictures. Table of leaders of Europe and Latin America

A two-day summit of European and Latin American heads of state and government begins tomorrow, July 17, in Brussels. Lula from Brazil, Petro from Colombia and Fernandez from Argentina confirmed to be at the EU-CELAC Summit (Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños). For Europe, European summits and heads of state of Portugal, Spain and Germany. Meloni’s presence is not confirmed, Tajani must be there.

The summit returns after 8 years, and the last one was held in 2015, directly in Brussels. Europe today is in a hurry to restore relations with a region of the world that claims to be a natural partner, but has neglected it in recent years. Tight agenda for the summit. First of all, the trade agreements: the renewal of those agreements with Chile and Mexico and the negotiations that lasted twenty years with Mercosur. The latter is slippery ground. It represents one of the largest trade agreements in the world (it would create a common market for nearly 800 million people, about a quarter of global GDP), but the chances of it being signed are slim. The French accuse the Brazilians of destroying the Amazon, and the Brazilians accuse the Europeans of neo-colonialism. And they both tell part of the truth.

Then there is access to strategic raw materials, those that are indispensable to the energy transition. The EU produces only 1% of all battery raw materials and is dependent on foreign markets. Latin America is extremely rich in these metals: niobium and tantalum, of which Brazil is the second largest producer in the world, lithium of which Chile, Bolivia and Argentina have the largest reserves, and copper, with Chile and Peru among the main exporters.

To attract developing countries, Brussels puts 300 billion euros at stake Global portalan investment plan in the southern hemisphere must face Belt and Road Initiative Chinese. “But the resources are biased towards Africa. As for Latin America, the money has been reduced by 10 billion. ” explains Mario Simoli, former deputy secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, who works to organize the Brussels summit. Simoli concludes, “Latin America wants to be treated as a partner over on an equal footing, not just as an area that receives funding from someone who explains how to achieve economic development.”

Finally, perhaps the most ambitious item on Brussels’ agenda, is the political dialogue between “natural partners, two areas that share the values ​​of the rules-based international order, democracy, human rights and peace,” said the EU president. Von der Leyen’s commission during his last trip to Latin America.
From Brussels they hope to be able to take the cooperation to a higher level. Latin American presidents rejected the Ukrainian president’s invitation to the summit, and almost all governments condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but refused to send military support to Kiev.

24 hours before the start of the summit, the official press releases were enthusiastic, especially after it was confirmed that Lula would attend. Lowest real expectations. What can we expect? “Some beautiful pictures, some investment projects, agreements for lithium and specific meetings between the European Union and Caribbean countries,” explained Lorena Ruano, professor of political science at Mexico’s Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (Cide). The summit was born of a European and, above all, Spanish initiative. Latin America did not ask for that, and the region is asking for financing, investment and development aid. The summits never resulted in anything, but they energize the bureaucracies to rethink their foreign policy agendas.”

Historically Spain is the country that forms relations with Latin America on behalf of the European Union. It was Madrid that promoted the summit, through the socialist government of Sanchez and the High Representative for Foreign Policy of the European Union, the Spaniard Josep Borrell. But no one expected the national elections after just one week. Sanchez confirms his presence in Brussels. For Spain, the Iberian socialists and populists say that “Latin America is a state affair”. Of course, a government that is embroiled in an election campaign and likely to leave reduces the political capital Madrid can put on the table during the summit.

The EU-CELAC Business Summit will run parallel to the Heads of State and Government summit (Intesa San Paolo will be in attendance for Italy, while Spain, France and Germany will take the stage for the rest of the summit).

Social movements and left-wing parties in the two regions organized a “counter-summit”, Cumbre de los Pueblos. «A side space for institutions, lacking political, social and cultural scope. It’s been twenty years since the season of social forums, and it’s time to tie the strings between our region again,” says MEP Smeriglio, promoter of Cumbre.