BRUSSELS, June 12 (Reuters) – European Commission
President Ursula von der Leyen starts a four-nation trip to
Latin American on Monday to bolster political and trade ties
that the European Union admits it has sometimes neglected.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union has
cast around for “like-minded” partners to provide other sources
of trade and critical minerals required for its green transition
and help reduce its reliance on China.
Von der Leyen will meet the presidents of Brazil, Argentina,
Chile and Mexico on consecutive days. Her trip follows that of
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier this year and comes a week
before Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva travels to
Paris.
Brussels will also host more than 30 leaders from Latin
American and the Caribbean at a summit on July 17-18, a
springboard for its “new agenda” with the region unveiled last
week.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the partnership
had been sometimes “taken for granted, or even neglected”, and
needed to be upgraded with “partners of choice”.
High on von der Leyen’s agenda will be the trade agreement
struck in 2019 with the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil,
Paraguay and Uruguay, but put on hold largely due to concerns
over Amazon deforestation.
The EU is expecting a Mercosur response soon to its proposal
to attach sustainability and climate change commitments to the
deal.
Von der Leyen will also seek to push forward an update to
the EU-Mexico trade pact which the two sides agreed in 2018.
Another focus will be the EU’s desire for partnerships on
critical raw materials with a number of countries in the region.
It has a trade agreement with Chile that could give EU companies
greater access to the country’s lithium and copper.
A possible understanding with Argentina could also promote
exploration of the Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas reserves by EU
investors.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by David Holmes)
