Clash of views over Ukraine marks first day of EU-Celac summit

This Monday the first day of the III European Union (EU)-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) Summit of heads of State and Government took place in Brussels, where the bloc’s intention to address the war was criticized in Ukraine.

Before the event, several South American countries vetoed the presence of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenski and insisted that the armed conflict should be left out of the joint declaration.

“This is not a summit on Ukraine”declared the Brazilian ambassador to the EU, Pedro Miguel da Costa e Silva.

“Our expectation, like Brazil and as countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, is that we focus on bi-regional issues,” he told the European website Euroactiv.

The high representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, was asked about this, and admitted that they are “working” to reflect the commitment to Ukraine.

“I am sure that we will find a way to say what has already been said in the United Nations,” Borrell said.

Criticism of the arms race

The president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said that “the war in the heart of Europe throws a blanket of uncertainty over the world and channels resources that are essential for the economy and social programs for war purposes.”

“The arms race makes the fight against climate change even more difficult,” Lula added.

While the Honduran dignitary, Xiomara Castro, lamented that “trillions of dollars are sent in weapons for war”, when “we are not capable of building the integral development of humanity with the objectives of sustainable development”.

“Equal Conditions”

The Bolivian president, Luis Arce, pointed out that there are important goals to face the global challenges that threaten humanity, “based on new integration approaches on equal terms and complementarity”.

At the People’s Summit, an event that takes place in parallel to the meeting between the EU and Celac, the Venezuelan Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez, spoke about the historical mistakes that Europe made in the Latin American region.

“This is what our history has been about, the plundering of the resources of our peoples, that imperial arrogance that thinks it owes us nothing. We tell them: They do owe us, they do owe the Caribbean what the genocide of more than 70 million slaves who came from Africa to America meant. Of course they owe us moral, ethical, and economic reparation,” Rodriguez said.

For his part, the Cuban president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, also criticized the “political manipulation of human rights and the double standards of many accidental countries.” In addition, he reiterated that Havana will continue to promote dialogue and international cooperation on the basis of respect and non-interference in internal affairs.

Trade agreements

Another who referred to the first day of the summit between Celac and the EU was the Chilean dignitary Gabriel Boric, who described as “important” the commercial, political and social agreements signed on Monday.

“We subscribe to the Digital Alliance together with the European Union and countries of the American continent to strengthen the digital capacities of Chile and the region, in addition to promoting digital cooperation in matters such as public policies, data protection, spatial data management and connectivity of the research and education networks,” he said.

The multipolar world

During his speech at the opening ceremony of the event, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, welcomed this initiative in the midst of the problems that afflict the planet, such as “the ravages” of the climate crisis.

Michael urged the establishment of a “fairer” international financial system, so that “bridge the gap between rich and poor”.

He maintained that both blocs are a “powerful force” in the United Nations General Assembly, “defending democracy, multilateralism and human rights.”

“We believe in a multipolar world. We don’t want a bipolar worldbecause this often comes at a cost to our interests and autonomy,” Michael added.

Given this, he urged to have summits every two years and a permanent coordination mechanism that guarantees constant progress. “By coming together, we can develop clean economies that are good for our planet and a digital transformation that drives our economies and societies forward,” he said.

memos

On Monday, the delegations of Ecuador, El Salvador and Honduras signed individual memorandums of understanding on bilateral consultations with the European Union.

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso pointed out that this will expand cooperation in the environment, social and economic policies, science, education, security, migration, investment, human rights, energy and development.

“This agreement is historic since it marks an important rapprochement for the benefit of both parties, our Government always committed to bringing more Ecuador to the world and bringing more world to Ecuador,” added Lasso.

In the Honduran case, Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina signed the pact together with Borrell, with which both parties emphasized a mutual commitment to strengthen their bilateral relations and thus maintain a permanent dialogue.

millionaire investment plan

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also presented an investment plan to relaunch ties with Celac.

There are 45,000 million euros (around 50,500 dollars) to be delivered over a period of several years to the Latin American economies through the Global Gateway program, an EU plan in response to China’s massive investments.

In this sense, Borrell recognized that “the irruption of China” It is one of the reasons that drives this appointment, but he asserted that “we are not in a race” with the Asian giant.

“China is growing. It is very big, and it is growing, it is buying. It has become the first trading partner of Latin America. [Es] something normal. But we continue to be the leading investor in Latin America“, held.