Portugal and Brazil will help the European Union come closer to the Mercosul countries, said Prime Minister António Costa at a press conference on the EU-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) conference held in Brussels on 17 and 18 July.

The trade agreement between the European Union and the common market of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela failed in 2019 due to the lack of commitment by some of the South American countries to environmental policies; António Costa noted namely Brazil, then governed by President Jair Bolsonaro. 

António Costa said that "there are advances between the Mercosul countries" and the response to be presented to the European Union on this negotiation is being drafted, the aim being to reach an agreement by the end of the year, still under the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The EU-Mercosul trade agreement encompasses 25% of the global economy and 780 million people, almost 10% of the world’s population. With the negotiations partially closed in 2019, the agreement was not ratified due to reservations on environmental policies and commercial fears of European countries.

The Latin American and Caribbean region is responsible for more than 50% of the planet’s biodiversity. It also represents 14% of the world’s food production and 45% of the net international agrifood trade. 

Working together

António Costa also stated that the two communities can work together, namely in the economic and energy fields: "When one of the regions has the greatest lithium reserve and the other the largest automotive industry, we all need to work together rather than depending on third parties", he said.

"From the geopolitical and economic perspective, it is very important for the two regions, which share common values, to straighten their ties and boost cooperation. I hope that a more solid relationship comes from this", wrote the Prime Minister on his Twitter account.

Ukraine

The Prime Minister highlighted the consensus given by the 27 EU countries and 32 of the 33 Latin American and Caribbean Community States (bar Nicaragua) in their concern towards the war in Ukraine.

"Bar Nicaragua, all the countries, from Lithuania to Cube, agreed on a joint text where they showed their concern towards Russia’s war against Ukraine and for a just and long-lasting peace, ad supporting the initiative by the UN Secretary-General" to allow the passage of Ukrainian grains in the Black Sea.

Although there are "highly different points of view" in the Latin American bloc "it was possible to reach an agreement among all the countries […] for a joint text, except for Nicaragua, which keeps us from having a formal declaration from the summit, but there will be a declaration signed by both co-chairs, which represents an important effort in reaching consensus".

Despite the differences, "an agreement among countries is not lesser when only one kept us from having a formal agreement among all", he stressed. The declaration is signed by the Presidents of the European Council Charles Michel and CELAC Ralph Gonsalves.

Bilateral meetings

The EU-CELAC summit was also an opportunity for the Prime Minister to meet or chat with Latin American colleagues. António Costa wrote that "we were able to boost dialogue with the region, which is permanent, and also explore new opportunities to work together".

With the President of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, "we spoke about the objectives shared in the fields of renewables and producing batteries. We also agreed on the importance of reaching a balanced trade agreement between the EU and Mercosul.

With the President of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chavez, a country that is investing heavily in electric and sustainable mobility and the digitalisation of health, a "very useful meeting" was held, as "there is great potential for synergies in these areas" between Portugal and Costa Rica.

50 leaders

This EU-CELAC Summit, the first in eight years that brought together more than 50 leaders from both regional communities, focused on boosting the partnership between the two regions to prepare for new challenges.

On behalf of the Union, the European Commission signed two memoranda of understanding: one with Uruguay on the transition to clean energy, to invest in renewables, energy efficiency, and green hydrogen; and another with Chile to set up a partnerships on sustainable raw material value chains.

The commitment for the EU and CELAC to meet every two years came out of this summit and the next one is set to take place in Colombia in 2025.