Post photo: flag of Mercosur | © Mercosur
As spokesman on European policy for the FDP parliamentary group, I have the following position on the summit meeting between the heads of state and government of the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
The EU should use the CELAC summit to prepare the ground for as many strategic partnerships as possible and promote trade agreements on an equal footing. The latest proposals from Ursula von der Leyen renegotiating the completed Mercosur agreement with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay is completely out of place and provokes these partner states.
For too long the EU has neglected its partnership with Latin America and the Caribbean, leaving a vacuum for influence, primarily from China and Russia. The EU must now deliberately overcome protectionist resistance in its own ranks and quickly conclude Mercosur and other trade agreements.
Closer trade relations could allow both the EU and the democratic states of Latin America and the Caribbean to reduce critical dependencies and diversify their supply chains. There is also enormous untapped potential in the fight against climate change, in justice and security, and in the fight against poverty.
The EU must position itself as a credible and attractive partner instead of lecturing the democracies of Latin America from a European point of view.
