Brussels, July 18: The European Union hosts Latin American and Caribbean leaders at a summit, hoping to revive strained ties despite divisions over trade and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The summit is the third between Brussels and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), but only the first since 2015, with several issues undermining closer ties.
“We need our close friends to be at our side in these uncertain times,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said, welcoming Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
As EU and CELAC leaders gathered in Brussels, diplomats were struggling to agree on the wording of the final communique — with Europe pushing for a strong stance against Moscow.
The 33 nations of Latin America and the Caribbean have no agreed position on the Ukraine war, however, and some would like to protect ties with Russia or seek a compromise peace deal.
Instead, some CELAC delegates will push for the implementation of the 2019 EU-Mercosur trade deal, which has stalled on European concerns about deforestation and agricultural competition.
Three years after agreeing on the deal, which liberalizes trade between the EU and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, it has yet to be ratified by several European governments.
Some capitals had hoped that the summit, held under Spain’s tenure in the rotating presidency of the EU, would bring new momentum to the Mercosur deal.
But diplomats from both blocs were clear that Monday’s talks would be an arena for discussion, and no breakthrough on trade was expected.
A senior Spanish diplomat told reporters in Brussels that EU-CELAC “will be a political summit, not a negotiating summit”.
