The EU and Latin America

The upcoming EU-Latin America summit prompts Joaquín Roy, director of the EU centre at the University of Miami, to write the following: "The majority of the new EU members are not interested in a region with which up to now they have barely cultivated relations, and consequently there has been a shift in the EU's priorities towards its direct neighbours and the strategically important regions. On the other side, the customs unions which are gradually being formed are slowing down regional integration in America. The supranational concept is rejected and equated with a loss of sovereignty. In conjunction with flourishing populist governments, the strong position of the presidents encourages the predominance of nationalist themes. Regional integration is also hindered by competing offers for free trade areas with the US. ... On the other side of the Atlantic, the EU refuses to change its Common Agricultural policy, which [in Latin America] fuels fears of neo-imperialism in the guise of an aid programme."

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