More than 50 leaders from the European Union, Latin America, and the Caribbean will hold their first summit in eight years on Monday, adding impetus to the European Union’s drive for new political and economic allies.
At the two-day EU-CELAC summit in Brussels, the two sides are expected to be keen on forging economic partnerships, but delicate discussions about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Europe’s role in the slave trade may complicate the talks.
Whatever the outcome, officials said the meeting itself marked a step toward strengthening relations.
“The meeting itself is the most crucial issue. We can now reunite after eight years,” according to Gustavo Martinez Pandiani, Argentina’s undersecretary of state for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The EU has stated its desire for a joint statement denouncing Russia, but it is aware of how challenging this will be to accomplish.
While most countries in the group supported a United Nations resolution in February calling for the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces, Nicaragua voted against it, while Bolivia, Cuba, and El Salvador abstained.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has presented himself as a potential neutral peace broker.
The European Union has isolated itself from Russia, which, until the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February last year, was the largest supplier of gas to the Union.
It also wants to reduce its dependence on China and build alliances with “reliable partners” to open more markets for trade, secure vital minerals for electric vehicles, and make a broader transition to a low-carbon economy with a supply chain dominated by China.
The EU has acknowledged that it has sometimes neglected its partners in Latin America due to China’s growing role in the region, but regular summits between the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States can provide a counterbalance to Beijing.
The presidents of El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela are among those not anticipated to travel to the Brussels talks despite being invited along with the other 60 leaders.
Although they are keen to invest in the EU, CELAC’s partners want the economic benefits of processing and producing lithium batteries or electric vehicles rather than lower returns from charge metals processed elsewhere.
The European Union is pushing ahead with a trade agreement with Chile, the world’s largest copper producer and second-largest producer of lithium, and officials have said the agreement could go into effect next year.
It is also seeking to open the trade deals it struck with Mexico in 2018 and with the Mercosur bloc made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay in 2019, although officials played down expectations of breakthroughs during the summit.
The European Union and Argentina will sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of energy before the start of the summit.
