Why is the EU so focused on Latin America?, Depth | EU Latin American Community Summit held after 8 years | EU Latin American Community Summit held after 8 years

In recent days, the European continent, which has been scorched by high temperatures, has also experienced a heatwave in the diplomatic field. The NATO summit has just concluded in Lithuania, followed by another "big party" with Latin American countries in Brussels.

Starting from the 17th, the 2-day EU Latin American Community summit will kick off, marking the EU's second such summit in 8 years. Analysis suggests that the EU's "re emphasis" on Latin America is mainly due to its desire to win over the other party and exert pressure on Russia, as well as to achieve a re layout of the industrial and supply chains. The Euler relations may undergo subtle adjustments in the new situation, showing a positive trend, but at the same time, they also need to face some differences and challenges.

"The port of departure"

In history, many Latin American countries were once European colonies, and Europe, with its complex of suzerainty, has been committed to deepening its relations with Latin America. In this process, 1999 was an important milestone - at that time, the EU established strategic partnerships with Latin American and Caribbean countries, and the "Euler Latin American Dialogue" became the foundation for the development of relations between the EU and the Latin American community and sub regional groups.

In 2011, with the birth of the Latin American Community, the development of the relationship between the European Union and regional countries entered a new stage. The full name of the Latin American and Caribbean Community (CELAC) is the largest regional political organization in the Western Hemisphere, consisting of 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries. For Europe, which has a traditional influence in Latin America, it naturally will not miss the opportunity to engage in dialogue and cooperation with the Latin American Community.

In 2013, the leaders of the European Union and the Latin American Community held the first EU Latin American Community Summit, followed by the second summit in 2015. The new mechanism hopes to strengthen political dialogue, improve economic ties, and other aspects to boost the relationship between the European Union and the Latin American Community.

However, the summit came to an abrupt end after two sessions. The Associated Press said that the COVID-19 epidemic and the announcement by former Brazilian President Bosonaro that he would suspend his participation in activities within the framework of CELAC in 2020 and other factors led to "the Atlantic Ocean separating the EU and Latin America appears wider". Fortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has come to an end, and Brazil's new President Lula announced his country's return to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) after taking office. All kinds of progress have led to "the reunion of friends who have been separated for many years".

Reuters reported that about 60 leaders were invited to attend this summit, but the presidents of El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela are not expected to attend.

The Financial Times and other media pointed out that the European Union acknowledges that it sometimes overlooks its Latin American partners. After years of suspension, the reconvening of the summit itself is a success and provides an opportunity to restart relations. "The summit is not the port of arrival, but the port of departure."

Why is it "re valued"?

Niu Haibin, Director of the Institute of Foreign Policy at the Shanghai Institute of International Studies, pointed out that the background of the summit can be viewed from several aspects.

Firstly, the traditional connection between the European Union and Latin America is relatively close. In the post pandemic era, the European Union needs to search for markets globally, naturally shifting its focus back to traditional partners.

Data shows that the European Union has a prominent influence on the Latin American economy. The annual trade volume between the two sides has increased by 39% in the past 10 years, reaching $414 billion. The EU's investment in the region has increased by 45% in the past decade, reaching $777 billion. The EU has signed trade agreements with 27 out of 33 member states of the Latin American Community.

Secondly, in the context of the new energy revolution and a new round of industrial revolution, Europe needs to find new sources of raw material supply. Latin America has abundant reserves of key minerals. This will make it easier for the EU to access lithium, copper, and other minerals crucial to its renewable energy industry.

Once again, countries around the world have strengthened their attention to countries in the global South. The global southern countries mainly refer to the vulnerable group of countries in the Western dominated governance system, covering developing countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other regions. In this direction, the EU's top priority is to focus on the African region, while Latin America also receives attention from the EU.

Finally, whether in addressing climate change, promoting sustainable development, or advancing new trade agreements, Latin America is becoming increasingly important to the European Union. Especially after replacing Bosonaro as President of Brazil, Lula seems to have brought more room for maneuver to the stalled free trade agreement and climate change cooperation. Therefore, the demand for cooperation between both parties is increasing, and the topics are increasing.

Cui Hongjian, Director of the European Institute of the China Academy of International Studies, pointed out that Europe has begun to attach importance to the countries of the southern world, and the Latin American Community is an important component of it. In the short term, the EU hopes to receive support from southern countries around the world in the Ukraine crisis and exert more diplomatic pressure on Russia; In the long run, the focus is on the re layout of the supply chain industry chain, which requires establishing closer connections with countries in the southern world in the era of multipolarity.

It is worth noting that before the summit, many Western public opinion interpreted the conference as related to "dealing with China and Russia".

According to media reports, since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, most of the Latin American Community (CELAC) countries have taken a neutral stance, and the European Union regards wooing them as a "super priority". In addition, Brussels is becoming increasingly concerned that the EU is overly reliant on China as a commodity and raw material market for its green transformation, and therefore hopes to establish alliances with "reliable partners"

Regarding this, Cui Hongjian believes that the EU does have a "small plan" in dealing with Russia, but it is expected that it will be difficult to persuade Latin American countries to change their neutral attitude. Previously, the Latin American Community removed all references to Ukraine from the draft text of the joint statement provided by the European Union. Moreover, against the opposition of Latin American countries, the European Union has cancelled the invitation to Ukrainian President Zelensky to attend the meeting.

As for whether the summit has any consideration for China, Cui Hongjian believes that it cannot be said that the EU has no component targeting China at all, after all, it will instill its own views on the international landscape, industrial chain, and supply chain into the Latin American Community. The output of these concepts and rules will obviously constitute a contradiction with China's interests in Latin America.

"But if the EU conference is solely focused on China, it's not necessarily true." Cui Hongjian said that this decision is mainly to consolidate and enhance the EU's interests in Latin America and ensure economic security.

How has the Euler relationship changed?

According to the agenda released by the European Union, the meeting will discuss a series of issues such as achieving green and digital transformation, strengthening multilateral cooperation to achieve world peace and stability.

Cui Hongjian pointed out that the first thing to focus on is whether there will be subtle changes in the relationship between the European Union and Latin America, which will be clearly reflected during the summit. "In the past, the European Union viewed Latin America more as a source of raw materials and an important market. However, in the context of Europe's increased dependence on raw materials, Latin America's voice over the EU may increase, and it may have the courage to make its own demands in front of Europe, even on matters that contradict Europe's position."

"Secondly, we can focus on whether both sides will redefine their relationship in the economic, trade, and social fields," said Cui Hongjian, for example, promoting the implementation of the free trade agreement reached between the European Union and the Southern Common Market in 2019, and so on.

After the free trade agreement was reached between the Southern Communist City and the European Union in 2019, the text of the free trade agreement entered the final review stage. However, the proliferation of loopholes has brought another twist to this agreement, which has been under discussion for over 20 years. In March of this year, the European Union proposed additional conditions, requiring the products exported by the Southern Common Market countries to the EU to comply with EU environmental requirements, otherwise they will face sanctions. Brazilian President Lula has promised to complete the agreement negotiations during Brazil's rotating presidency of the Southern Communist Party in the second half of this year, but he explicitly opposes the EU's unilateral addition of conditions to the free trade agreement.

Cui Hongjian pointed out that the European Union intends to push for an agreement, but there is disagreement within the EU on issues such as agricultural products and raw material tariffs. It may be difficult to make a breakthrough during the summit, but both sides may make relatively positive statements to ensure that negotiations continue.

Niu Haibin believes that the summit may establish consensus or achievements in addressing climate change, developing a green economy, strengthening mutual investment, and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises. In terms of the EU Mercosur Free Trade Agreement, the previous resistance was Bosonaro reversing environmental protection issues. After this resistance is eliminated, the next challenge is whether the EU can abandon protectionist policies in the agricultural sector.

Opportunities come with challenges

Looking ahead to the prospects of the Eurasian relationship, Niu Haibin believes that the overall trend is optimistic and there are development opportunities. Due to the complementarity in economic and trade between the two sides, there is also a lot of consensus on improving global governance and maintaining regional peace. However, at the same time, there are also differences between the two sides on some major international political and economic issues, and it depends on how they respond to the challenges.

For example, on the issue of Ukraine, Latin American countries have highlighted their autonomy in foreign policy and are unwilling to get involved in conflicts. For example, before the summit, Cuba and Venezuela condemned the EU's "manipulative behavior and lack of transparency", accusing Brussels of meeting in a "divisive manner" without all invited countries present. The promotion of free trade agreements and other issues are even more dragging the feet.

What disappoints Latin American countries even more is the limited resources that the European Union can provide. During his Latin America trip last month, European Commission President von der Leyen increased the EU's grant and loan commitments from 6 billion euros to 10 billion euros in 2021-2027. But compared to the 150 billion euros specifically allocated for Africa under this plan, it pales in comparison.

According to the website of Euronews, given the early establishment of a partnership between the European Union and Latin America, Latin America should have been the first "speed dial" region of the European Union. However, in reality, the two often treat each other with a cold and contemptuous attitude - Latin America believes that Europe still treats itself with the mentality of former colonial "masters".

The Financial Times stated that for the European Union, Latin America is not an easy partner to get along with. The political situation in the region is turbulent, and some countries such as Cuba and Venezuela have close relations with Russia. China's influence in Latin America is also steadily advancing, and Europe is facing marginalization. For Latin America, it is concerned that the agenda of this summit seems to be tailored for the interests of the "old world", such as ensuring the safety of key minerals, rather than addressing major issues such as poverty and inequality.

In Niu Haibin's view, the so-called "risk reduction" of the European Union aims to achieve diversified foreign economic and trade relations between the EU and Latin America simultaneously. However, despite the large stock of economic and trade cooperation between the European Union and Latin America, the increment is not significantly affected by various factors. In contrast, the cooperation between China and Latin America is considerable in terms of both stock and increment. Therefore, whether from the perspective of the EU's capabilities or the willingness of Latin American countries, the development of relations between the EU and Latin America will not interfere with the overall cooperation between China and Latin America.

Niu Haibin believes that China upholds the concept of openness and inclusiveness, and believes that cooperation between the international community and Latin America can go hand in hand, complement and promote each other. China is willing to carry out trilateral and multi-party cooperation on the basis of respecting the wishes of regional countries. China and Europe can fully form healthy competition in the Latin American region and work together to promote regional development.