EU-Latin America summit

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EU-Latin America Summit (EU-LAC Summit) is the name of the biennial summit meeting of the heads of state and government of the European Union , Latin America and the Caribbean .

Summit conferences

EU-LAC summit in Lima (2008)
Heads of State and Government during the 1st CELAC-EU Summit 2013 in Santiago de Chile

The previous summit conferences have been held alternately in South America and Europe since 1999 , with the European conference venue previously being in the country that regularly held the presidency of the Council of the European Union . However, in 2015 this rule was broken when the summit was held in Brussels, despite Latvia holding the Council Presidency:

Goal setting

The summit conferences are intended to deepen the strategic partnership between the two regions that began in 1999 and are being prepared by the foreign ministers . The actual plenary session of the heads of state is preceded by thematic working groups with them and the foreign and economic policy-makers, and this is followed by sub-regional meetings and special discussion groups with circles from business and development aid .

61 heads of state or government took part in the 2006 summit (25 EU countries, 34 from Latin America / the Caribbean and the acceding countries Romania and Bulgaria).

The summit meetings concentrate on topics of political-economic cooperation, external relations and the social problems of South America . Although the EU- Mercosur negotiations failed in 2004 and those within the framework of the World Trade Organization WTO even more clearly in 2005, talks for a planned free trade area between the two continents were resumed in 2006.

Current problems and opportunities

The tough negotiation processes of recent years are due on the one hand to the diversity of the participating states and their socio-economic structure, and on the other hand to the shift to the left that has occurred in parts of South America . Some states prefer bilateral economic agreements and have concluded such agreements with the USA , while states with left-wing governments criticize this severely, view it as harmful to their development and at best tend towards multilateral development cooperation. Their rejection of neoliberal economic concepts aims at a desirable promotion of social policy , but usually leads to escalating budget deficits . By nationalizations (2006 z. B. natural gas production in Bolivia) are investors uncertain what the establishment may jeopardize much-needed jobs.

Other problem areas are the poverty of large parts of the population, the high level of crime and corruption, and declining social cohesion. The drug problem would require increased cooperation between the countries, which, however, will hardly be achieved due to the lack of agreement on the path to be taken. The same applies to environmental protection , in which only Brazil has made significant progress.

On the other hand, NGOs , church organizations and development aid organizations that are active in the social field are increasingly able to coordinate their activities and goals. The Vienna Alternatives Summit in May 2006 and the continuation of its initiatives were an important step towards this . In the medium term, to improve living conditions, u. a. Educational programs contribute, more scholarships to South American students (EU promise in May 2006), the strengthening of initiative (especially of women ) and the promotion of small businesses . The role of European industry is increasingly discussed corporations in Latin America and a better legal protection for human rights activists.

In government development policy, the European Union is the largest donor to the Latin America / Caribbean region. The agreement on the EU budget 2007-2013 therefore gave the Union the opportunity to secure the necessary funds for the next few years at the 2006 summit. In the very complex drug problem, where u. a. If Bolivia and Colombia break new ground, the existing cooperation mechanism will be further developed.

In 2006, at the suggestion of Chile, an EU aid program for Haiti , one of the world's poorest countries, was decided. Venezuela's exit from the Andean Community , which President Hugo Chavez announced in early 2006, is making the entire process more difficult .

On the VI. The EU-Latin America Summit, which took place in Madrid in 2010, agreed to set up an EU-Latin America-Caribbean Foundation , which began its work in November 2011.

literature

  • Hildegard Willer: Investment and different climate. The EU-Latin America Summit and the counter-activities in Lima . In: Ila. Journal of the Latin America Observatory. ISSN  0946-5057 . 2008, issue 316 (June 2008), pp. 54–55.
  • Karsten Bechle: The VI. EU, Latin America and the Caribbean summit: strategic partners waiting? In: GIGA Focus. ISSN  1862-3573 . Number 5, 2010.

See also

Web links

Official sites
Other web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ European Parliament; Answer to Question No E-007622/17. Retrieved June 30, 2019 .
  2. ↑ EU texts | Documents | DLAT | Delegations | European Parliament. Retrieved June 30, 2019 .