Borrell plans to hold "at least one" EU-Latin America summit 

It has been five years since the last summit between the countries of Latin America and the European Union, an absence that the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, has blamed on "reasons linked to the greater urgencies that have come to Europe from other fronts", although he considers that "we have not had the relationship with Latin America that we should have had".  

For this reason, in a virtual interview with several Latin American media, Borrell promised to do "everything possible" to hold "at least one summit" between the EU and Latin America.   

However, he made it clear that he does not have in mind a "ceremonial" summit that necessarily brings together all the heads of state and government, but that he wants it to be a meeting of "content" in which issues such as "social instability, organised crime, violence, development problems and trade" are dealt with.  

"If we want to be influential in the world, if we want to be a geopolitical power and a global actor, we cannot pretend to be so without being present in Latin America, where there is a young population and extraordinary economic potential", said the high representative. If we are not present in Latin America, Borrell warned, "other countries will take its place", referring to China, whose influence in the region is "growing".  

The EU's political absence does not correspond to its economic weight, since "European companies have invested more in Latin America than in China, India, Russia and Japan combined", Borrell stressed.  

"It is true that they are very concentrated in sectors and countries, but if European companies have put their eggs in any basket, it has been in Latin America, and nevertheless, the political presence of the EU, not of some states, is not equal to this economic relationship", he insisted.  

The head of European diplomacy is convinced that "the three agreements that are on the table", namely those with Chile, Mexico and Mercosur, "are a very important part of a new impetus for Latin America". In the case of the agreement with Mexico, the commercial part is "practically finished", Borrell pointed out.  

The EU-Mercosur agreement has been in the making since 1999 and although it was finally signed in 2019, after 20 years of negotiations, it has yet to be ratified by the 27 EU partners and their national parliaments. The Latin American regional organisation is currently made up of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, after Venezuela was suspended under the democratic clause. 

Borrell insisted on "not throwing out the window" the trade and association agreement with Mercosur, one of the "most complete" in existence, and making an "effort to bring positions closer together, even though there are "fundamental obstacles".  

The agreement is currently paralysed by the European Parliament and countries such as France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria, which are asking for a strengthening of environmental controls, although they are also fearful because of issues of competitiveness and the agricultural sector.  

The country that the aforementioned EU partners are most wary of in terms of environmental policy is Brazil, where since Bolsonaro became president the Amazon is deteriorating at a faster rate. However, the Mercosur partners see this as an excuse for not ratifying the treaty.  

"The Portuguese presidency can have a lot of influence in pushing the agreement forward. I know that it has, of course, a special interest. It is a good thing that we have Portugal as President of the European Council in order to push this agreement forward", Borrell said, referring to the cultural, economic and cultural ties with Brazil, and trusting that Portugal will help to unblock the agreement.  

Borrell is convinced that it is "better to have this agreement than not to have it", and believes that it is necessary to save it and present a definitive text that is accepted by all, even if "we have to wait a little longer".