The expected response of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to the draft common declaration sent by the European Union for the summit that on July 17 and 18 will bring together about 60 leaders of the two blocs in Brussels – including -including the Brazilian, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who confirmed his presence yesterday- has been a real bucket of cold water for the Twenty-seven, especially for Ukraine’s closest allies.
The war is not even mentioned as such in the alternative text sent from the other side of the Atlantic, which proposes to eliminate the paragraphs proposed by Brussels in which the Russian invasion is condemned as a clear violation of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and pleads for Russia to cease aggression for a declaration of enormous vagueness. The lack of commitment they raise is such that several sources do not rule out that the next Euro-Latin American summit, the first in eight years, will be resolved without a final declaration.
“We advocate for a serious and constructive diplomatic solution to the current conflict in Europe by peaceful means, in such a way as to guarantee the sovereignty and security of all, as well as regional and international peace,” states the alternative text submitted by the Latin Americans, to which has had access to La Vanguardia, which also evokes “the profound geopolitical transformations” that have taken place since 2015, which have shot up inflation and exacerbated inequalities and agri-food problems in the world.
Although most Latin American countries have joined the declarations of condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (in April, only Nicaragua voted against it, while Bolivia, Cuba and El Salvador they abstained), the attitude of Brazil and other states is still ambiguous. The war is a distant conflict for this region, which distrusts the attention and resources that Europe leaves to it.
For all these reasons, it was expected that the reference to Ukraine would be one of the most difficult points to agree on, but the harshness of the Latin American response has surprised the Twenty-seven, who will debate today at the weekly meeting of ambassadors how to react . “Now is when the negotiations really begin”, say sources from the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the Union.
Other delegations, on the other hand, describe the Latin American reaction as “provocation”. The 20-page document dedicates some of the first paragraphs to evoking the drama of the transatlantic slave trade and suggests “recognizing” the need to restore the dignity of the victims with compensation and reparations to correct “the legacy of underdevelopment”. In addition, there are a lot of amendments with a Bolivarian flavor (mentions of “mother earth”, stronger than usual language about Cuba, criticism of the colonialist heritage…) and there is a lack of depth in the contributions about the issues that interest Europe, such as trade agreements, the investment agenda or alliances in strategic sectors, such as critical raw materials.
The total absence of political coordination between the 33 countries that make up CELAC – the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the intergovernmental mechanism that the EU has as counterpart to organize the summit – could explain the response received, “a real patchwork of amendments”, rather than “a sum of agreed principles” or a counter-proposal worthy of the name, according to European sources.
To further complicate matters, this year Celac is chaired by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a small Caribbean island of 110,000 inhabitants that belongs to the Commonwealth. Its administrative capacity is presumed to be very limited and, in any case, light years behind that of the EU, which despite this has begun to negotiate with very little time – weeks, not months, as is usual in these meetings – the declaration of this year’s summit.
According to European sources, the countries closest to Ukraine could refuse to accept that the summit closes with a statement that does not explicitly condemn the war. Others, such as Germany, France, Spain or Portugal, add that, “given the wide field of cooperation that lies ahead”, they could be more flexible regarding the detail of the text. One solution could be for the EU to propose a new draft declaration, shorter and more concise than the current one, to relaunch the negotiations, they suggest.
The prospects for the summit improved yesterday with Lula’s confirmation – in a telephone conversation with Pedro Sánchez, President of the Government of Spain, who this semester presides over the Council of the EU – that he will attend the summit. Until now it was a doubt and its position will be key to a hypothetical trade agreement this year with Mercosur. His presence raises doubts about a hypothetical invitation to Volodymyr Zelensky, who would like to participate in some way in the appointment to personally address the Latin American leaders and persuade them of his vision of war and peace.
The idea has sparked divisions. While some delegations support it wholeheartedly, others feel that it is counterproductive, as it could open a new rift between the EU and Latin America instead of building bridges. For now, the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, has not issued an invitation.
