From left to right: the President of Argentina Alberto Fernandez, the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves, the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen during the EU -Celac summit, in Brussels, July 18, 2023. FRANCOIS WALSCHAERTS v AP
Charles Michel, President of the European Council, described it as a “success after eight years of waiting”. “A historic summit,” added Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Chair of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac). But on closer inspection, the meeting of around sixty heads of state and government of Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, which took place in Brussels on Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th July, was more than tedious. And successes are rare when reading the final declarations of all heads of state and government.
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The fault lies, first, in the war that Russia has been waging in Ukraine for the past fifteen months, which has complicated debates between the leaders of both continents. Despite fifteen days of preparation between capitals, the end of Tuesday afternoon’s debates had to be delayed by several hours to find a wording acceptable to all – or almost all – of the sixty countries.
In their final statement, the leaders expressed their “deep concern at the ongoing war against Ukraine,” without mentioning Moscow. Moreover, this more than minimal sentence was not confirmed by everyone. Daniel Ortega’s Nicaragua refused to endorse the text. Many countries have avoided following the Europeans in condemning Russia. “It wasn’t a summit on Ukraine,” Ralph Gonsalves recalls. It was important for Europe and we understood that. And the majority of countries condemned this war. »
At a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday morning, Lula assured that “the world is getting tired.” “Countries are getting tired” of this war. “We spoke to China, Indonesia and the other Latin American countries, a group of countries that believe that peace is the best way (…). There must be a group of countries able to talk to Russia and Ukraine. He added that Russia must withdraw its troops in order to negotiate peace.
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Several memorandums of economic agreements
Beyond Ukraine, leaders from both continents hoped for progress on other issues. The record is slightly better in this regard. At an economic forum organized by the Commission on Monday, Latin American leaders welcomed the announcement of 45 billion euros in European investments in their continent, be it from the states or the EU institutions. A sum whose importance is applauded by Gaspard Estrada, executive director of the Political Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean at Sciences Po Paris. He recalled that “the economic issue is the basis of the war.” If China has multiplied in the region, it is because it has invested heavily there.”
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