As it hosts the EU-CELAC summit after eight years, the EU attempts to reorient it’s relations with Latin America in light of altered geopolitical realities.
On 17-18 July, some 50 leaders from the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean (CELAC) countries gathered in Brussels, Belgium, for a bi-regional summit.
A strategic bi-regional partnership between the two regions was signed in 1999, with the first meeting taking place that same year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The last such summit—a format that acts as the primary forum for dialogue between the two regions—took place in 2015 in Brussels. Eight years later, the current summit transpired under a fundamentally altered geopolitical and economic landscape amidst increasing US-China strategic competition, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the EU’s green transition. This historic summit occurred under the six-month Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU, which has prioritised ties with Latin America given Spain’s historical and linguistic affinities with the region.
A strategic bi-regional partnership between the two regions was signed in 1999, with the first meeting taking place that same year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.After decades of European neglect, the last few years have witnessed a number of efforts to scale up the partnership. In 2019, the EU adopted fresh Council Conclusions on EU-CELAC relations, and in 2022, an EU-CELAC roadmap 2022-2023 was released. In June this year, the EU published a New Agenda for Relations between the EU and CELAC. These policy documents were accompanied by a spate of visits from high-ranking EU officials such as Josep Borrell in 2022 at the EU-CELAC Foreign Ministers meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he dramatically declared 2023 as the “Year of Latin America in Europe”. Most recently, European Commission President von der Leyen visited Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Mexico to lay the groundwork for the summit. In addition, in March, a new Digital Alliance was created between the two regions towards an inclusive and people-centric digital transition.
The agreement is estimated to eliminate 4 billion euros worth of duties on European exports, demonstrating its immense potential.Besides Mercosur, the EU’s modernised agreements with Mexico and Chile that will replace the old agreements signed in 2000 and 2003 respectively also await ratification. The LAC countries are viewed as reliable partners in the EU’s quest for strategic autonomy, the diversification of supply chains, and a reduction in lopsided dependencies. Increasing Chinese and Russian influence also forms a part of the EU’s incentives to enhance ties with the region. From being a marginal actor, China surpassed the EU to become Latin America’s second-largest trading partner after the US in 2014. According to the World Economic Forum, China-Latin America bilateral trade in goods increased from US$12 billion in 2000 to US$315 in 2020 and is predicted to increase upto US$700 billion by 2035. On the other hand, EU-LAC trade in goods increased from 185 billion euros in 2008 to 218 billion euros in 2021.
The fact that LAC countries, most of which voted in favour of UN resolutions condemning the war, comprise a third of UN membership demonstrates their political importance.Yet this is expected given how decisions within the CELAC are based on consensus between all 33 member states—a requirement that the EU is all too familiar with—and the likelihood of spoilers is high in a community as heterogeneous. Besides, an EU-CELAC Roadmap 2023-2025 was adopted to lend direction to the relationship over the coming years.
The EU is the largest foreign investor and donor in the region as well as the third-largest destination for Latin American exports.Some more deliverables included the signing of energy cooperation agreements with Argentina and Uruguay, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on supply chains for critical raw materials with Chile. The EU is the largest foreign investor and donor in the region as well as the third-largest destination for Latin American exports. A 2021 survey conducted by Latinobarometro revealed that 48 percent of those surveyed felt their country would benefit most from increased ties with Europe as compared to 19 percent for North America and 8 percent for the Asia-Pacific region. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares referred to Latin America as “the most Euro-compatible region on the planet”. But as the EU navigates choppy international waters and as Brazil gears up to take over the G20 presidency from India, the ability to harness rhetoric and complementaries into tangible progressive outcomes will be the real test.
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Shairee Malhotra is Associate Fellow, Europe with ORF’s Strategic Studies Programme. Her areas of work include Indian foreign policy with a focus on EU-India relations, ...
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