Europe and Latin America still cannot agree on joint formulations regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Better nothing than something bad, says Sweden at the summit in Brussels.
The second day of the summit of the EU countries with the 33 countries in the cooperation organization Celac is very much about round table discussions on themes such as economy and security.
But in the background lurks continued disagreement about the view of Russia and President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Among the CELAC countries are strongly pro-Russian members such as Cuba and Nicaragua, which, according to information given to the news site Politico Europe, negotiated with Moscow about what can be accepted or not.
No statement?
It, in turn, is not accepted by several countries in Europe.
– The discussion waves back and forth, you could say. There is a mixed commitment to Ukraine – very strong European, but more mixed in Latin America and that will probably also affect whether there will be a statement or not, says Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) to TT during a meeting break.
– We are strongly in favor of a powerful statement, common to Ukraine. If it doesn’t, a weak statement is rather worse than nothing at all. On Europe’s part, of course, we cannot compromise completely fundamental principles regarding Ukraine’s right to self-determination, says Kristersson.
Similar words are heard from, among others, the Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar.
– Sometimes it is better to have no conclusions at all than to use language that means nothing, says Varadkar on his way into the meeting.
Talk about trade
The EU-Celac summit is mainly to reconnect direct contacts that have been down for several years during the corona pandemic. From the EU’s side, there is also – at least from Sweden and other trade-oriented countries – hope that this will also start to unravel in the tenacious work on a trade agreement with the Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay).
Kristersson has had a separate meeting with Brazilian President Lula da Silva, but notes that “we are not there yet”.
– Basically, there are a lot of people who realize that this is necessary. So there are details, above all in some agricultural policy, some climate policy and a number of such aspects that must also be agreed upon, says the prime minister in Brussels.
FACT EU and Celac
This week’s summit in Brussels between the 27 EU countries and the 33 members of CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) is the first since 2015. It is hoped that similar meetings will be held every two years in the future.
From the EU’s side, heads of state or government from all members except Estonia and Slovenia participate.
From Celac, all members participate, although eight are represented only by foreign ministers and two have sent their vice-presidents.
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