Hopes and skepticism for the European Union-Celac Summit

The third summit between the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) will begin next Monday in Brussels, after eight years of frozen relationship. The heads of state and government will meet in search of greater cooperation between the regions. Although there are many expectations for the meeting, the political divergences generate tensions.

“During all these years, the Latin American and Caribbean region sought to maintain the channels of dialogue, but the Europeans were simply too busy,” a Latin American diplomat told AFP.

This is one of the possible explanations for the silence that has dominated diplomatic relations between the EU and CELAC since 2015. Two days before the summit that will open the dialogue between the regions, different Latin American leaders have expressed their reservations.

The planned agenda is focused on creating alliances to respond to climate change, economic and security challenges, and the energy transition. For him European Councilchaired by Spain, is a “key political milestone”.

One of the most sensitive points on the agenda is the position of the CELAC countries regarding the war in Ukraine. While the EU hopes to include it in the text of conclusions, a South American diplomatic source told AFP that the body should understand the diversity of positions of Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez denounced the “lack of transparency and manipulative conduct” of the EU. The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry joined his statement, adding that “the EU’s decision to impose its own format” on the summit puts the negotiations at risk.

Beyond the criticism of his organization, the summit generates tensions due to the opposing positions of the EU and some of the autocratic states in Latin America. Also, the state of relations between the EU and Mercosur regarding the conditions of the trade agreement, particularly in terms of environmental protection, remains to be resolved.

The EU condemns human rights violations in Cuba

the european parliament denounced this wednesday “systematic violations and abuses of human rights in Cuba”, and demanded sanctions for President Miguel Díaz-Canel. The organization calls on Cuba to release the protesters imprisoned since July 11, 2021, and asks the Cuban authorities for authorization for a European delegation and independent NGOs to observe the trials of “individuals who continue to be detained for exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly.

For MEPs, the summit represents an opportunity to “defend the principles of the rule of law”, and they believe that autocratic regimes should not participate in it.

Cuba’s response came the same day in a release. “The European Parliament lacks the moral, political and legal authority to judge Cuba,” declared the National Assembly of People’s Power. In addition, it “strongly” rejects the Parliament’s resolution and accuses the sanction of “interference” and defamatory.

Miguel Díaz-Canel visited Portugal on Friday, invited by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, before heading to Brussels. On Twitter, he showed a conciliatory attitude.

“Then, we will participate in the CELAC-EU Summit. #Cuba, which considers CELAC as the united voice of Latin America and the Caribbean, will go to that meeting with a constructive spirit and will help strengthen relations between both regional blocs, on the basis of equality and respect,” he said on his Twitter account.

High expectations of human rights defenders in Nicaragua

A group of 160 persecuted politicians from the government of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua addressed a letter to Colombian Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva, calling for action to be taken in the face of the humanitarian crisis that the country is going through.

Colombia has already been chosen as the next in turn to preside over Celac. The letter has been signed by 29 national and international organizations that defend human rights.

Nicaraguan intellectuals and journalists, among them the novelist Gioconda Belli and former Vice President Sergio Ramírez, are asking the Latin American and European heads of state to create a “Group of Friends of the Nicaraguan People” “to contribute to a democratic transition,” according to the document to which he had access from the Spanish media’The country‘.

For its part, Amnesty International also led a open letter to the members of the summit. “With its many complex human rights challenges, this is a critical time for Latin America and the Caribbean. (…) This summit is the opportunity to make a significant change. The leaders of the region must work with their European counterparts to find solutions”, declared Erika Guevara Rosas, director for the Americas of the organization.

Tension over an EU-MERCOSUR agreement not yet ratified

The summit is expected to provide the opportunity to present the trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay). The agreement, announced since 2019, remains unratified.

European countries demanded greater commitments from Mercosur to protect the environment, especially in the context of the Jair Bolsonaro government.

Now Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva considered the green protocol “unacceptable” and criticized its sanctions. Last Wednesday he declared that “distrust” cannot guide the trade agreement negotiations. “Between strategic partners there must be a premise of mutual trust and not mistrust,” Lula said.

The Mercosur countries describe the agreement as asymmetrical in its current state, alleging that Europe has not taken into account the unequal rates of development between the regions when setting out its conditions.

A strategic alliance

Europe, in the context of the climate and energy crises, seeks its independence from fossil fuels. 60% of the world’s lithium reserves, an essential mineral for the batteries used by electric cars, are found in Latin America. Argentina, Bolivia and Chile make up the Lithium Triangle, with 56% of the reserves, according to ECLAC data.

The European Commission announced on Friday, July 14, the disbursement of 43 million euros of humanitarian aid for Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, it is expected that during the summit the European Investment Bank will formalize a loan of 800 million euros to Argentina, Brazil and Chile, destined to finance environmental projects.

With EFE, AFP and Reuters