The European Union (EU) hopes the Brussels summit with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on Monday and Tuesday will allow a rejuvenation of ties between the two regions, but the European bloc has “touchy” ties with Nicaragua and Venezuela, which complicate the dialogue.
The leaders plan to discuss issues such as trade relations, reforming the composition of the international financial system, climate change, and the energy and digital transitions. In addition, the European negotiators want to mention the war in Ukraine.
The leaders of both blocs are meeting for the first time since 2015, and there have been fresh disagreements since the last summit.
Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena, who will represent her country at the summit, warned on Friday that the meeting would “not be easy”.
EU relations have been particularly strained with Nicaragua since the 2018 crackdown on protests, and with Venezuela, as European bloc countries believe there were irregularities in the elections that won Nicolás Maduro his second term.
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“The EU faces a very diverse group of countries with different ambitions and political sensitivities. And in some cases it has limited and delicate relationships, such as with Nicaragua and Venezuela,” Christopher Sabatini, a Chatham House researcher, told AFP.
The EU maintains a strained relationship with Nicaragua, marked by the sanctions imposed on several high-ranking officials, including President Daniel Ortega’s wife and Vice-President Rosario Murillo, who are banned from entering European territory.
In this regard, relations have been marked by a series of diplomatic crises.
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Regarding Caracas, the EU defends a “peaceful and democratic solution led by Venezuela to end the protracted political crisis” and reiterated that this implies that the next presidential elections in 2024 must be “credible, transparent and inclusive”.
The head of the Venezuelan parliament, Jorge Rodríguez, ruled out on Thursday that the EU would send an electoral mission to the elections. “They don’t come back because they’re rude, because they’re colonialists,” Rodríguez warned.
The European bloc expressed its “concerns” about the expulsion of opposition candidate María Corina Machado and suggested reviewing the auditor’s role in the case.
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The EU sent an observation mission to Venezuela’s regional and local elections in late 2021 for the first time since 2006, highlighting progress but also criticizing “the arbitrary disqualification of candidates”.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez on Monday criticized “the lack of transparency and the manipulative behavior of the European Union in the preparation of the summit” which “seriously jeopardized the success of the meeting”.
“Anyone who tries to impose a biased and European vision on bi-regional relations will have no chance of succeeding in Brussels,” Rodríguez warned.
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Venezuela supported Cuba’s criticism of “the lack of transparency and manipulative behavior” of the 27th bloc.
The Cuban Foreign Minister reiterated that “the reality is that beyond speeches and declarations there has been no progress in bi-regional relations, even in recent times there has been a regression.”
The European Parliament this week called on the EU to impose sanctions on those responsible for human rights abuses in Cuba, quoting President Miguel Díaz-Canel in a resolution.
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Despite these tensions, the Cuba issue could be one of the opportunities for consensus at the summit, Sabatini said.
“Cuba is in the midst of this humanitarian crisis, partly due to the US embargo, the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis and, of course, the failure of the government’s economic policies,” the expert said.
“If international public opinion can be sensitized and engaged in a joint effort to deal with the current crisis in Cuba, the EU-CELAC summit could make a much-needed contribution,” Sabatini said.
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