Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union Summit
EU - Latin America Summit (EU- LAC Summit ) is the name of a two-year series of summits of Heads of State and Government of the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean countries.
Summits
The previous summit conferences were held since 1999 alternately in South America and in Europe instead, the European venue was far respectively in the country that has taken as scheduled the Presidency of the Council of the European Union:
- I. EU - Latin America Summit (Rio de Janeiro, June 1999 )
- II EU - Latin America Summit (Madrid, May 2002)
- III. EU - Latin America Summit (Guadalajara, May 2004 )
- IV EU- Latin America Summit (Vienna, May 2006)
- V. EU - Latin America Summit (Lima, May 2008)
- VI. EU - Latin America Summit (Madrid, May 2010)
- VII EU - Latin America Summit (Santiago de Chile, January 2013)
Objective
The summits are to deepen the strategic partnership begun in 1999 between the two regions and are prepared by the foreign ministers. The actual plenum of the State Chefs go thematic working groups with them and the outer or economic policymakers ahead, and follow sub-regional meetings and special discussion groups with circles of economic and development assistance.
At the 2006 summit took 61 Heads of State or Government in part ( 25 EU countries, 34 from Latin America / Caribbean and the candidate countries Romania and Bulgaria).
The summit will focus on issues of political and economic cooperation, external relations and the social problems of South America. Although failed in 2004, the EU - Mercosur negotiations and resumed in 2005 more clearly those under the World Trade Organization, but were 2006 calls for a planned free trade zone between the two continents.
Current problems and opportunities
The tough negotiation processes in recent years depend on the one hand, together with the diversity of the participating States and their socio-economic structure, on the other hand with the have occurred in parts of South America shift to the left. Some countries prefer bilateral economic agreements and included such as with the U.S., whereas countries with leftist governments vehemently criticize this view for its development as harmful and possibly tend to multilateral development cooperation. While their rejection of neoliberal economic concepts aimed at a desirable promotion of social policy, but usually leads to escalating budget deficits. Through nationalization (2006, for example, natural gas production in Bolivia), investors are uncertain, which may compromise the creation of much needed jobs.
Other problem areas are the poverty of large parts of the population, the high level of crime and corruption and the declining social cohesion. The drug problem would require enhanced cooperation between the countries, but the lack of conformity hardly comes about in the path to be taken. The same applies to the environment in which only Brazil has made significant progress.
On the other hand, it is possible to make the social field NGOs, organizations of the Church and of development assistance increasingly to coordinate their activities and objectives. A major step in this direction was the Viennese Alternative Summit in May 2006 and the continuation of his initiatives. In the medium term to improve the living conditions among others Education programs contribute more scholarships to Latin American students ( the EU's commitment in May 2006), strengthening the initiative ( especially women ) and the promotion of small businesses. Is discussed Increasingly, the role of European industrial groups in Latin America and a better legal protection for human rights activists.
In the state development policy, the European Union is the largest donor for the room / LAC. Therefore, the recent agreement on the EU budget 2007-2013, the Union was a possibility at the 2006 summit to ensure the necessary resources for the coming years. In the very complex drug problem, where, inter alia, Bolivia and Colombia, new ways of existing cooperation mechanism will be further developed.
2006, on a proposal from Chile adopted a EU aid program for Haiti, one of the world's poorest countries. Complicating the overall process of the exit of Venezuela from the Andean Community, the President Hugo Chavez has declared the beginning of 2006.
On the VI. EU - Latin America Summit, which took place in Madrid in 2010, was the establishment of an EU -Latin America and Caribbean Foundation agreed, which began its work in November 2011.