Dialogue between Europe and Latin America translated into 45 billion

The Summit between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAC) concluded yesterday in Brussels. All according to the script, with the presentation of the portal’s global investment plan, 45 billion, and the signing of various agreements on energy and raw materials between the European Union, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile.

stumbling block In the dialogue, as expected, was Ukraine. After lengthy negotiations, Paragraph 15 of the Final Declaration declares “deep concern about the war against Ukraine” and commitment to support diplomatic efforts for peace. On the last page we read, “This declaration has been endorsed by all states except one.” One of them is Nicaragua, the only country that voted against the Russian invasion in the United Nations General Assembly. The vast majority of Latin America and the Caribbean voted in favour. “We have a clear position, and the rest is journalistic speculation,” Argentine President Fernandez stated at the recent press conference.

“Mission accomplished, relaunching bilateral regional relations as well as dialogues between individual countries. We have also identified a new post-Cotonou agreement, which will mean relaunching cooperation between the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries,” said Charles Michel, President of the European Council. The signing of the agreement has been postponed With Mexico and Mercosur, but “we hope to sign it in the coming months,” President von der Leyen said at the closing press conference of the summit, which started two hours late due to the lengthy negotiations.

Absent from the results was Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who after the summit headed to Madrid for his campaign commitments. And the Argentine Fernandez defends him from criticism: “He worked a lot for this summit, and it is good that he is involved in the electoral campaign to defend the democratic values ​​that we share.” “We do not want to wait eight years to meet again,” declares Michel, referring to the time that has passed since the previous summit, held in 2015. “We have established a mechanism for meetings every two years.” The next appointment is in 2025 in Colombia, when it will be Bogota’s turn with the Petro government to chair the CELAC Forum.

on the sidelines of the summit, a meeting took place between the Venezuelan government and opposition, along with the presidents of Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and France and the High Representative for Foreign Policy of the European Union. Topic: The 2024 presidential elections in Caracas and the democratic feasibility of the opposition. The climate is also tense due to the European Parliament’s condemnation last week of the exclusion of opposition leader María Corina Machado, and Caracas’ refusal to receive election observers from the European Union.

The Italian government asserts that it has little interest in Latin America. Minister Tajani was absent, and Meloni only attended the second day of the summit. In the plenary session, he referred to Italian investments in Latin America and cooperation initiatives in the fight against organized crime. He then held bilateral talks with his Argentine and Uruguayan counterparts. And the Secretary General of the Institute of Italy and Latin America, Antonella Cavallari, who is organizing the Italy-Latin America Summit in Rome next October, attended. President Mattarella’s recent visit to Chile and Paraguay is a flash in the shadow of the cone in which Latin America finds itself for Rome’s foreign policy.

In addition to corporate meetings, there were also political meetings. Such as the leaders of the progressives in Europe and Latin America, who were promoted by the European Socialist Party. An opportunity for Prime Minister Sanchez to take a photo with international leaders to spend on the Spanish election campaign. “If we want to avoid the dangers of The West vs The Rest, it is in our European interest to build bridges with this part of the global south,” says Peppe Provenzano, Director of Foreign Affairs Pd based in Brussels, in the statement.

in the closing statement de la Cumbre de los Pueblos, the counter-summit of social movements and left-wing parties in the two regions held in parallel with the summit of the EU and CELAC, and the creation of an international tribunal against blocked In Cuba in November in the European Parliament.