2023-07-19 00:28:00
The Brussels summit between the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) concluded on Tuesday with a declaration expressing “concern” regarding “the war once morest Ukraine”, but avoids referring to Russia. Added to this, despite the arduous negotiations, no consensus was reached with Nicaragua.
The debate around the situation in Ukraine was the focus of a good part of the two days of discussions that sought to revitalize the links between the EU, of 27 countries, and the 33 of CELAC. Consequently, an important European investment announcement was relegated to the background, as well as a meeting articulated by France between the government and the opposition of Venezuela, as well as the debates on the challenges of climate change.
The European Union and Celac adopted a motion on the Malvinas for the first time at a bi-regional summit
Finally, the leaders expressed their “deep concern regarding the current war once morest Ukraine, that continues to cause great suffering“, although they did not make any reference to Russia, in the midst of the conflict between the two countries since Moscow troops invaded the former Soviet republic in February 2022.
The European bloc, which supports Ukraine financially and militarily, insisted on including in the final text a mention of that conflict that upset international relations and impacted the world economy. The document received the support of 59 of the 60 countries participating in the summit, being that Nicaragua is the only one that did not adhere to the letter.
In this sense, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, affirmed in the followingnoon that “Nicaragua is reluctant to sign the text.” The declaration also indicates that it “was signed by all countries with one exception, due to disagreement with a paragraph“.
It is not the first time that Nicaragua does not adhere to a policy once morest the war. In this regard, it is one of the seven countries that in February voted once morest a UN resolution approved by 141 votes in favor that demanded the “immediate withdrawal” of Russian troops from Ukraine.
The bogging down of negotiations on a consensus formula highlighted the challenge of agreeing on positions between the EU, a highly institutionalized bloc, and a heterogeneous forum such as CELAC. The discrepancies over Ukraine and the solution to the conflict were evident in the speeches on the first day.
For example, President Alberto Fernández stated in the final press conference that “The vast majority of CELAC countries condemn the Russian invasion in the United Nations”; while the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, who holds the pro tempore presidency of CELAC, downplayed the omission of a mention of Russia.
“There is a reaffirmation of positions and we check all the boxes. It does not mean that you have to go dancing the lambada naked every time a subject is raised. The language is there,” Gonsalves said, also criticizing the sanctions imposed by Western powers on Russia.
For his part, on his way out Macron highlighted the role of his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, stating that he is “one of those who build bridges”. Lula has been criticized in the past by Western powers for his stance in favor of “a negotiated peace” and his opposition to sanctions, reiterated during the summit.
Presidential elections and negotiations with Venezuela
In the statement, the leaders also expressed their support for “a constructive dialogue between the parties to the negotiations conducted by Venezuelans in Mexico City”.
On the sidelines of the summit, the vice president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, and the opposition’s chief negotiator, Gerardo Blyde, met on Monday with the presidents of France, Argentina, Brazil and Colombia to discuss next year’s presidential elections. In this sense, the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, reported on Tuesday that the discussion focused on how to move forward to holding “free elections that can be recognized by the international community”.
Last week, the chief government negotiator and president of the Venezuelan Parliament, Jorge Rodríguez, ruled out that the EU send an electoral delegationfollowing the European block expressed “concern” regarding the disqualification of the opposition candidate María Corina Machado.
The EU investment plan to reduce Chinese influence
The EU sought to pave a rapprochement between the two regions with the announcement on Monday of an investment plan of 45,000 million euros (50,560 million dollars). through the Global Gateway program. That way, The European bloc seeks to exert a counterweight to the growing presence of China in Latin America.
The initial expectation was that the summit would serve as the stage to sign the EU agreement with Mercosur, stalled following a series of negotiations that began more than two decades ago. Along these lines, the issue of deforestation and environmental issues are one of the main obstacles to this agreement. However, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed her expectation that the negotiation comes to fruition in the second half of this year.
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