Why should the European Union have any relevance for Latin America and the Caribbean? (original) (raw)

Based on a historical relationship of shared values, continuous political links and reciprocal migratory flows, the European Union (EU) is now emerging as a strategic partner for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) on the international global stage. Although both regions display marked differences and do not present themselves as homogeneous players, in respect of the array of protectionist, revisionist, illiberal, isolationist and unilateral tendencies, and the tectonic changes in the geo-economic and geo-political processes of the current global scenario promoted by the relevant players in the international system, the convergences between both regions on various matters related to the global agenda and to their own dynamics present a range of opportunities to develop a bi-regional focus and deepen inter-regionalism between the EU and LAC. The European Union together with Latin America and the Caribbean contain a total of 61 countries which, acting in a coordinated manner in the United Nations and other forums such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the G-20, among others, could contribute to the reform, consolidation or deepening of the multilateral system currently being challenged by various players. This requires renewing, updating and deepening existing relationships – which up to now have mainly been perceived as concentrated in trade exchanges and North-South cooperation – bringing to light and developing other areas of cooperation that open up strategic alliances of various kinds and boosting a new agenda of mutual opportunities, visibility and impact, bearing in mind, however, the heterogeneity within both blocks. With this in mind, this study presents, from various different angles, the challenges of transforming the bi-regional agenda into an agenda of global inter-regionalism which can meet the great challenges and priority objectives of the international agenda, from a multilateral point of view and taking account of the various levels of interaction and interconnection. From the perspective of shared values, problems and solutions, this study offers an innovative examination of these relationships, identifying challenges that may contribute to the construction of a common agenda of mutual benefit, in line with the global multilateral agenda, based on studies and in-depth analysis by researchers in both regions. his study – involving joint collaboration between research centres of the EU and of LAC - has been developed by a consortium of three institutions: the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) in Germany, the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB) in Spain, and the Regional Coordination for Economic and Social Research (CRIES) in Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Panama and Buenos Aires, coordinated by this latter institution, and with the participation of researchers from other institutions in both regions. This particular study has focussed its efforts on answering the question “Why should the European Union have any relevance for Latin America and the Caribbean?” by starting from existing relationships and their future potential. This question requires a bi-regional effort in tackling the problems and potential common responses to contemporary transformations caused by globalisation, global governance and the international order with the emphasis on five specific areas: economy and finance; security and defence; sustainable development and climate change; science and technology; and human rights, refugees and migration, – in response to a call from the EU-LAC Foundation. The collaboration between the aforementioned institutions is a concrete demonstration of the potential for constructing convergences and ways of cooperating between both regions which will open up opportunities to develop joint initiatives in a complex international environment that is itself in transition. The study has also benefited from the results of the 2018 Forum for Reflection “Why should the EU have any relevance for Latin America and the Caribbean? And why should LAC have any relevance for the EU”, organised by the EU-LAC Foundation and held at the College of Europe in Bruges on 20 and 21 May 2018. It also had the benefit of the debates at the seminar “The EU-CELAC agenda in times of global interregionalism. A view from Academia”, which was held in Barcelona on 23 May 2018, organised by CIDOB in collaboration with the University of Havana and co-financed by the EU-LAC Foundation, with over thirty experts from both regions participating. We are therefore grateful to the EU-LAC Foundation for their support in the production of this study; to all members of the team who have prepared their respective sections and contributed to the general revision of the study, the production of prospective scenarios and conclusions and to interviews carried out with various specialists; to the interviewees for giving so generously of their time and for their contributions, and to the support team from CRIES made up of Celeste Ronzano, Carolina Zaccato and Constanza Boettger who contributed to the revision and logistics which enabled this study to be produced.