The Presidential Summit held between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) on July 17 and 18 in Brussels was an important political gesture, given that they had not met for eight years, but it showed how far apart the two regions are.
In addition to the issues of easy and quick consensus that culminated in a 41-point declaration, the EU’s priority was to seek an alignment of Latin America and the Caribbean with the European position of strongly condemning Russia in the war with Ukraine; to point out the regimes of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela for deficits in their democratic systems; and to launch a proposal for investments in the region to counteract the presence of China.
CELAC rejects pressure to take a position on Ukraine
The shortsightedness to see the different political positions in our region explains why the European Council, organizer of the event, has considered the idea of inviting Volodimir Zelensky to the EU-CELAC Summit, from which it had to retract not only because of the rejection of the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, but also those of Brazil, Bolivia, among others.
With their automatic alignment with the militaristic stance of the United States in the war in Ukraine, the Europeans have broken their ties with Russia, a country that is part of their geographical and cultural environment, and that provided them with natural gas, even in times of the Cold War, which contributed to their post-war industrialization process.
The recent NATO Summit, as well as that of the Group of Seven (the world’s richest) received Zelensky with cheers. The promotion of Zelensky’s figure by the allies is reminiscent of; something similar to the ovation that Juan Guaidó received, in the U.S. Congress on the occasion of former President Trump’s State of the Union address in February 2020. The words of former President Donald Trump still resonate when he said to Guaidó: “Here, tonight, is a very brave man who carries with him the hopes, dreams and aspirations of all Venezuelans. Joining us among those present is the true and legitimate president of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó.”
As will be recalled, Guaidó had self-proclaimed himself interim president of Venezuela a year earlier and the U.S. government not only armed him with a set of Embassies in more than 50 countries and international organizations, but also configured the now defunct Lima Group from where the Venezuelan military was encouraged to recognize him and oust Maduro. Today the farce has fallen, and the Venezuelan right wing formally made the decision to dismiss Guaidó and his “interim government” that never governed. Likewise, the member countries of the Lima Group were withdrawing from that forum.
The United States and the European Union invite the Ukrainian president to every meeting they hold and pressure other extra-regional organizations to do so as well. But CELAC rejected the proposal to invite him despite the fact that most of its governments have approved resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Several CELAC countries, including Mexico and Brazil have been actively involved in efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution to the war in that country as they see aggression from both sides.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a complex issue in which the aggressor was being pushed against the wall by NATO. Little is said about the repeated letters that the Russian president sent to his American counterpart warning them not to cross the limits of what was considered their internal security, and demanding that they desist from trying to make Ukraine part of that alliance.
Thus, despite the pressures that were initiated to try to impose the presence of the Ukrainian president at the Summit, the final declaration condemns the war in Ukraine, but does not mention Russia. In point 15 of the same, only deep concern is expressed about the ongoing war against Ukraine, which continues to cause immense human suffering and is aggravating already existing weaknesses in the world economy, limiting growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, increasing energy and food insecurity and intensifying risks to financial stability. In this regard, they expressed the need for a just and sustainable peace in line with the Charter of the United Nations.
Lessons not learned
The Europeans have also failed to learn about the way political differences are processed in the region. At the IX Summit of the Americas held in Los Angeles last June, the U.S. hosts decided not to invite Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. This resulted in the non-attendance of the presidents of several Caribbean countries, as well as Bolivia, Mexico, Honduras, among others. In addition, several of those who did attend, such as Alberto Fernandez, in particular, expressed severe criticism of this attitude, as well as of the ineffectiveness of the OAS. Others expressed their disagreement by stating that, although political aspects in those countries could be criticized, they should be addressed precisely at those events.
Shortly before the EU-CELAC Summit, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on the European Council, the EU’s main decision-making body, to publicly condemn the Cuban government, intensify support for civil society representatives opposed to the government and impose sanctions on those responsible for human rights violations in Cuba, starting with President Miguel Díaz-Canel. The resolution, shortly before the elections in Spain and before the CELAC meeting, was little more than imprudent.
In the end, the outcome of the CELAC meeting was contrary to the objectives of the European Parliament. In the final declaration, the heads of state signed a paragraph in which they gave strong support to Cuba by demanding an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against that country. They also rejected the recent designation of Cuba as a State sponsor of terrorism (by the United States) and its maintenance on that list, a fact that is causing obstacles to international financial transactions with the island.
The shadow of China
Europe has joined the United States in describing China as a danger to world security and democratic values, as defined at the NATO Summit held in Madrid in June last year, within the framework of what was then established as a new strategic concept. This is despite the fact that the Asian country represents for many European countries a fundamental market for their exports and investments. The 33 CELAC member countries, on the other hand, maintain intense economic and cooperation relations with China. In fact, more than 20 countries in the region have signed the Silk Road and Belt Agreement, which provides for the financing of physical and digital infrastructure, among other areas, at the global level.
To counteract that advance, Donald Trump proposed the “America Grows” initiative, which also contemplates credits for the region’s infrastructure (in exchange for not acquiring Huawei’s 5G digital technology produced by the Chinese). This was replaced by “The Partnership for Economic Prosperity of the Americas” that Biden launched at the aforementioned Los Angeles Summit, with the same purpose and precarious financing.
Europe does not want to be left behind, as it fights with China for first place as a foreign investor in the region (ahead of the USA?) and is Latin America’s third largest trading partner. Initially, under the French presidency of the European Council, the Global Gateway initiative was launched at the end of 2021, with the aim of contributing to the development of the EU’s partner countries, particularly in Africa, by mobilizing private capital to boost the digital, energy and ecological transition.
The strategy envisaged making €300 billion available by 2027 to support the financing of sustainable infrastructure. Of that total, Africa, where China’s presence is strong, would benefit from half, i.e. $150 billion. The rest would go to the Western Balkans, Ukraine, some Asian countries and Latin America and the Caribbean.
In fact, during the recent EU-CELAC Summit of Heads of State, a new investment agenda of 45 billion euros through 2027 was established for the aforementioned sectors, as part of the Global Gateway initiative. CAF and Spain will organize the first meeting of EU and CELAC finance ministers in September to define investment projects in all countries of the region to promote these sectors, in addition to implementing more strategic and sustainable ways to take advantage of natural resources.
CAF’s executive president, Sergio Díaz-Granados, said that Latin America and Europe are a common product of history and that our region has much to contribute to Europe’s present and future. In this scenario of reordering of world hegemonic power, Latin America and the Caribbean owe obedience only to themselves. The recent EU-CELAC Summit has shown signs of more autonomous positions.
