Why is it “a strategic imperative” for the EU to get closer to Latin America?

2023-06-07 19:22:27

Brussel·lesThe covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine have highlighted the dependencies of the European Union and pushed it to accelerate its plans to diversify its main partners. In this sense, the community club knows that in relations with South America and the Caribbean there is a lot of ground to run and it sees a golden opportunity, especially Spain, which has long been pressuring the rest in this regard of member states. “We must go from being natural partners, which we are because of historical, cultural, values ​​and commercial issues, to being partners by choice”, pointed out this Wednesday the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, in the presentation of the new plan from Brussels to strengthen ties with Latin America.

In the same vein, the Catalan leader has assured that in the current context it is a “strategic imperative” to start “a new era” with the South American continent and has announced the desire of the European Commission to create a permanent coordination mechanism with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). Brussels intends to hold a regular summit every two years between the presidents and prime ministers of the states that make up the two bodies.

In fact, this July 17 and 18, the first EU-CELAC meeting will be held after eight years, and it will be at this meeting that they will discuss the new format of the diplomatic ties they want to maintain. “This relationship has often been taken for granted or neglected […]. We have been a little left behind with our political ties,” criticized Borrell. For this reason, in recent months the EU has intensified diplomatic contacts with Latin America. The socialist leader has visited the region up to five times during the last months Next week the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will travel to Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Mexico.

This relationship has often been taken for granted or neglected […]. We have been a little left with our political ties with CELAC”

Joseph Borrell Head of European diplomacy

The fact that Spain holds the rotating presidency of the European Union during this second semester can also represent an important push for the improvement of relations. Madrid has always considered improving relations with Latin America a priority, despite the reluctance of the member states with more weight in the European club, and does not want to let the opportunity slip away.

Among other agreements, the Spanish government and the European Commission want the European Parliament and the Twenty-seven to derail the trade agreement with Mercosur. Although it was signed in 2019, it was not ratified due to the fear of countries such as France that the import of meat and different food products would affect the competitiveness of their farmers.

In any case, South America and the Caribbean are already important trading partners for the Twenty-seven. According to the European Commission, exports from the European Union to the CELAC states currently represent 369 million euros and more than one million jobs. A figure that since 2018, and especially since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, has grown substantially: up to 40%. Various bilateral agreements of the EU bloc with some South American countries have helped, such as the one signed with Chile, which facilitates the access of European companies to critical materials.

Critical minerals, a key point

One of the main interests of the European Union in the countries that make up CELAC are precisely these critical minerals. They are essential for the European technology sector, mainly for the manufacture of batteries, and the EU bloc wants to diversify its suppliers. Right now, they care largely about China: ten of the thirty critical materials come mostly from the Asian giant. In this sense, the European Union wants to avoid stumbling twice over the same stone, that of dependence on authoritarian regimes and unreliable partners, as has happened with energy with Moscow, and fears that in the long term it could be repeated the same with minerals critical to Beijing.

Brussels also remembers that Latin America and the Caribbean are the world’s main food producer, have 50% of the world’s biodiversity and have great potential in terms of green energy generation. In this way, the community executive also sees it as an essential ally in the fight against climate change. “Despite the political volatility, the democratic indices of the CELAC states are higher than most parts of the world, and we share many values ​​and climate goals,” community sources emphasize.