3rd EU–CELAC summit

The third summit between the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) took place in Brussels, Belgium, over two days, from 17 July to 18 July 2023.[1][2][3][4]

III EU–CELAC Summit 2023
Leaders[lower-alpha 1] of the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States on the first day of the summit
Date17–18 July 2023
CitiesBrussels, Belgium
Follows2nd EU–CELAC summit
Websitehttps://eulacfoundation.org/en/iii-eu-celac-summit-2023

It took place while Spain held the presidency of the Council of the European Union and Ralph Gonsalves, the prime minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, held the pro tempore presidency of CELAC.[5][6][7] It was the first such summit in eight years; the previous summit was held in 2015.[8][9]

Overview

The summit was seen as a way to revitalize the relationship between the two parties and possibly make progress on finalizing a trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur, a South American trade bloc.[10][1][lower-alpha 2] Shortly before the summit, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU was planning to invest 45 billion euros into Latin America and the Caribbean, as part of the EU's Global Gateway strategy.[6][1][9][lower-alpha 3]

The participants had significant trouble coming to an agreement over what to include in a joint declaration of the summit: the EU parties wanted a strong condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while some of the CELAC parties maintained strong relations with Russia and wished to avoid making such a statement.[5][1][13][12][4][14] In addition, many of the CELAC countries wanted to address the issue of paying reparations for slavery, an idea which received pushback from the EU countries, with Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar pointing out that not every European country had colonies or partook in the slave trade.[15][16][17][18]

In the end, the summit managed to produce what El País described as a "lukewarm condemnation of the war" that made no mention of Russia, despite attempts by Nicaragua to block such a condemnation.[19][3][20][21][lower-alpha 4] In addition, although the final declaration did not commit to the payment of reparations, it stated that the parties "profoundly regret" the suffering that the slave trade had caused.[19][16][21] Furthermore, the parties agreed to hold summits every two years, with the next meeting scheduled to be held in Colombia in 2025.[19][22]

Not much progress was made on the trade agreement; it was only briefly mentioned in the final declaration.[8][17] European diplomats were hoping for commitments addressing their concerns about the environment, after Brazilian former president Jair Bolsonaro had allowed the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest to reach a 15-year high.[5][22][13] Their CELAC counterparts demurred, stating that environmentalism should not be used as a pretext for protectionism.[5][15] Some of the EU countries have also voiced concerns about the possible flooding of beef from countries such as Argentina and Brazil.[5][22]

Reactions

Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who also held the pro tempore presidency of Mercosur during the summit, remarked that he had "rarely seen so much political and economic interest from the EU countries towards Latin America" and considered the summit "extremely successful".[23][14] European Council president Charles Michel said that he had left the summit "feeling that we had done our duty".[20]

British prime minister Rishi Sunak condemned the EU because the final declaration of the summit had used the term "Islas Malvinas" next to the term "Falkland Islands", which led a spokesperson for the EU to clarify that the union had not changed its position regarding the islands.[24][25]

17.07.2023 - Fotos oficiais (53055153718).jpg
Participants in the Europa building on the first day of the summit

Notes
  1. Pictured are Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (left), European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen (center), and Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez (right).
  2. The parties had already mostly agreed to the deal in 2019.[1][8]
  3. Global Gateway is an infrastructure development strategy considered to be a competitor to China's Belt and Road Initiative.[11][12][9]
  4. Nicaragua ended up not endorsing the declaration due to the language condemning the war.[19][20]

References
  1. "EU-Latin America summit gets off to rocky start". Deutsche Welle. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  2. "The EU is late to rediscover Latin America". Financial Times. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  3. "Russia-Ukraine updates: S Africa asks exemption from Putin arrest". Al Jazeera. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  4. "EU, Latin America at odds on Ukraine and Mercosur trade ahead of big summit". Politico. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  5. "EU and Latin American leaders hold a summit hoping to rekindle relationship with long-lost friends". AP News. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  6. "Alberto Fernández at EU-CELAC Summit with clean energy first on agenda". batimes.com.ar. 23 July 2023.
  7. "Saint Vincent and Grenadines/CELAC: Press remarks by High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell before his meeting with Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves | EEAS". eeas.europa.eu. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  8. "EU to invest €45bn in Latin America and Caribbean". The Guardian. 19 July 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  9. "EU aims to be 'partner of choice' for Latam, Caribbean in pivot from China, Russia". Reuters. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  10. "Mercosur: South America's Fractious Trade Bloc". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  11. Barbero, Michele. "Europe Is Trying (and Failing) to Beat China at the Development Game". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  12. Sahuquillo, María R.; Gómez, Manuel V. (17 July 2023). "Brussels identifies a hundred areas for investment in Latin America". EL PAÍS English. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  13. "War in Ukraine set to haunt EU summit with Latin American countries". euronews. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  14. "Brazil's Lula upbeat on EU-Mercosur deal, calls for peace in Ukraine". POLITICO. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  15. "LEAK: Latin American countries push back on Ukraine, EU agenda ahead of joint summit". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  16. "Battle for slavery reparations pledge at EU summit". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  17. "Why Latin America still won't condemn Putin's war in Ukraine". POLITICO. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  18. "EU says slavery inflicted 'untold suffering', hints at reparations". Reuters. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  19. jcookson. "An eight-year diplomatic lull is over. So what did EU and Latin American and Caribbean leaders achieve?". Atlantic Council. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  20. Sahuquillo, María R.; Arroyo, Lorena; Gómez, Manuel V. (18 July 2023). "EU and Latin American leaders manage to agree on a lukewarm condemnation of the war in Ukraine amid Nicaraguan opposition". EL PAÍS English. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  21. "EU's Latin America summit underscores rift over Russia". RFI. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  22. "EU, CELAC wrap up 'historic' summit aimed at relaunching ties - EFE Noticias". EFE Noticias. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  23. Gómez, Manuel V. (20 July 2023). "Lula da Silva: 'I have rarely seen so much political and economic interest from the EU countries towards Latin America'". EL PAÍS English. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  24. "Rishi Sunak criticises EU for calling Falkland Islands 'Islas Malvinas'". the Guardian. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  25. "Sunak hits out at EU's 'regrettable choice of words' in Falklands row". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
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