Latin America and the European Union want to deepen their relations again. In July, an EU-Celac (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) summit will be held in Brussels, the first since 2015, and pending agreements are expected to be concluded, such as the one between the EU and Mercosur. In this context, European politicians such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently traveled to Latin America to explore how to deepen bi-regional relations.
There is no doubt that the strategic value of Latin America and the Caribbean has increased for the European Union since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Politically, governments in the region are important when it comes to voting resolutions on Russia in the General Assembly of the United Nations.
Economically, Latin America has raw materials such as natural gas and oil that Russia supplies to the EU, and strategically important raw materials are already imported from Latin America, such as lithium. Due to its climatic and geographical conditions, Latin America is considered to have great potential to produce and export green hydrogen at competitive prices among different regions of the world. And Europe will be one of the biggest markets for green hydrogen in the future.
At the first Latin America-Europe Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1999, the objective of developing a “strategic partnership” was announced. Since then, the term has appeared time and time again in official statements, and more recently, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Josep Borrell, even spoke of a “strategic alliance” in relation to the pending EU-Mercosur association.
There are political and economic coincidences, but the question is: are there enough common interests for a strategic partnership? The preparatory meetings of the EU-Celac summit and, more recently, Chancellor Scholz’s talks in Argentina and Brazil have shown that there is an elephant, or should I say, a bear in the room that Latin America would like to ignore or at least avoid. to mention.
The war in Ukraine divides the EU and Latin America. What from a Latin American perspective appears to be a matter of choice – how to position itself in Ukraine’s conflict with Russia – for Europe is a matter of necessity, that is, defending itself against a genuine military threat and an attack to core European values.
It is symptomatic that the joint press release of the 3rd Celac-EU Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, at the end of October 2022 in Buenos Aires, avoided citing and condemning Russia, as European governments had hoped. At least participating governments were able to reaffirm their support for the goals and principles enshrined in the UN Charter to uphold the sovereign equality of all states and respect their territorial integrity and political independence. In the context of this statement, the behavior of Latin American countries is even less understandable.
Moreover, from a European point of view, it is strange that a region that has always denounced the imperialism emanating from the United States, and rightly so, today avoids condemning as imperialism a war to restore an empire and to subdue and, if necessary, forcibly assimilate other countries. peoples.
Statements by some Latin American governments are met with incomprehension in Europe, such as Lula’s statement on the conflict in Ukraine that “when one doesn’t want to, two don’t fight”, which is like blaming someone for being hit in the head by a person who forcibly entered your home.
Against the backdrop of images we see daily in Europe of warlike atrocities, attacks on civilians and refugees arriving from Ukraine, these statements seem callous, if not cynical. And they cost Lula his sympathy in Europe, and cast doubt on his ability to act as a mediator in the conflict.
And then there are supporters of active non-alignment. And here the question arises whether a policy of active non-alignment does not take sides indirectly by putting the aggressor on an equal footing with the victim. The question is whether, in a war where the aggressor is clearly identified and civilians are killed and war crimes committed, a government is not also complicit in doing nothing.
Latin American governments should ask themselves whether the world would be better and whether it is in Latin America’s interest that the European Union be weakened and Russia (and indirectly China) be strengthened with the conflict in Ukraine. This would also mean a defeat of the values that Latin American governments have up until now defended in international politics, such as respect for sovereignty, non-intervention and the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
Active non-alignment only makes sense if you also define the values defended in international politics; and, based on these values, it is decided when to take sides. Sometimes Pete Seeger’s old song “Which Side Are You On?” also applies in international politics, especially between supposed strategic partners.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
