“EU and Latin America and the Caribbean: from natural partners to privileged partners”

2023 is a key year for the revitalization of relations between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean. On 24 and 25 March I will participate in the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit which will take place in Santo Domingo. This meeting with Ibero-American leaders is linked to the EU-CELAC summit to be held next July in Brussels. The confluence of two summits this semester demonstrates the common interest in reactivating “the other transatlantic relationship”.

For the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean are much more than a market of growing importance. They are a young continent where the EU’s core values ​​and interests are at stake for decades to come.

We need to turn on the high beams and update our approach to adapt to a new geopolitical context. The strategic competition between the United States and China, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the rise of the so-called “Global South” are leading the world towards a disorderly and unstable multipolarity. It is not an invitation to isolation, but an opportunity to strengthen our cooperation at a time when global commons are needed more than ever.

On both sides of the Atlantic, we want to strengthen our autonomy by avoiding excessive dependencies and by diversifying our value chains. That is why we need more cooperation and agreements between reliable economic and political partners. If we disagree among ourselves, who will we agree with? The complementarity between these two neighboring and related regions is crucial to our interests and to our respective roles as global players.

The starting point is clear: the relationship between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean is positive, based on deep human, political, economic and cultural ties. We have one of the densest networks of political, cooperation and trade agreements between the EU and 27 of the 33 countries in the region. The EU is the third destination of Latin American exports and the first source of investments in the region. The EU is also the largest contributor of development aid.

It’s true, our relationship rests on solid foundations, but perhaps that’s why we rested on our laurels and other partners, especially China, took advantage of it. It is not enough to recognize what unites us as “natural partners”. We must look to the future and work together as “privileged partners” who dialogue and consult on the basis of shared interests. We need to shift the focus, often centered on the problems of our respective regions, towards finding common solutions to common problems.

This requires more dialogue at all levels, without problems or disagreements on either side clouding the potential for joint cooperation. It is something that citizens recognize. A survey conducted in September 2021 by the Latinobarómetro in ten Latin American countries reveals encouraging data. When asked which region of the world their country would most benefit from strengthening ties with, 48% named Europe, 19% North America, 12% Latin America and 8% Asia -Pacific.

Furthermore, the Caribbean, as an economically, geographically and culturally recognizable sub-region, deserves more political attention from the EU. Part of the answer has to be developing a more structured relationship and dialogue.

The goal is, therefore, to build a new positive and pragmatic cooperation agenda around the three main axes that will determine the fate of the 21st century: climate change, the digital revolution and social justice. Latin America and the Caribbean are a key partner in achieving global environmental goals and implementing the Paris Agreement. The region concentrates 60% of terrestrial species and the Amazon alone accounts for 56% of the world’s wet forests. Without America’s colossal natural heritage, the world will not be able to protect its ecological balance. The region is also key in ensuring that the digital transformation is put at the service of people, respecting their privacy, rights and freedoms, expanding access to public and private services. That’s why we just launched, on March 14 in Bogotá, a digital alliance to promote a human-centered and just digital transition.

The social dimension is essential: the green and digital transitions will be fair and democratic or they will not be. Democracy is in decline around the world and, at the same time, Latin American societies cry out in the face of poverty, inequality and violence. It is estimated that, at the end of 2022, one in three Latin Americans was in a situation of poverty and one in six in a situation of extreme poverty. Even in Europe, the risk of poverty and social exclusion affects more than a fifth of the population. It will not be possible to defend our democracies and overcome the autocratic threat, neither in America nor in Europe, without stipulating a more just and sustainable social contract. To develop this agenda, we have new tools such as “Global Gateway”, the European strategy to support sustainable and transformative investments by bringing together the financial strength of the EU, Member States, financial institutions and the private sector.

Finally, and now even more so, we must jointly promote peace, democracy and human rights through a more equitable and inclusive multilateral order. We always say that Latin America and the EU are firm defenders of multilateralism, and it is true. Together we voted and asked for respect for the principles of international law, such as respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states. But we must go further to strengthen cooperation on peace and security. Our regions have a key role to play in reforming the international financial and security architecture.

Joseph Borrell