Santa Marta (Colombia), Nov 10. — The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) strengthened 'a relationship between equals' this Sunday at the IV Summit of the two blocks held in the Caribbean city of Santa Marta. 'In such a complex political context as the current one, this summit sends a clear message to the world: even in times of greatest uncertainty, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean maintain a commitment to dialogue over divisions, cooperation over confrontation, partnership over isolation,' stated the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa. The European leader highlighted the egalitarian nature of the relationship between the EU and CELAC countries, 'built on shared values, history and human ties' and also on 'a shared vision of the world'. This spirit was embodied in the final declaration of the summit, a 52-point document that sets out the main concerns and proposals of the countries making up the two blocks, from 'the full compliance with international law' in the fight against drug trafficking to the need for peace in Gaza and Ukraine. The final declaration was signed by 58 of the 60 participating countries, as Venezuela and Nicaragua 'dissociated' themselves from the document to which two additional declarations were added. The first is 'an alliance for citizen security that will strengthen cooperation between the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of security, including the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking,' specified Costa. The second is 'a pact for care to facilitate exchanges on progress and best practices in the care economy,' added the President of the European Council. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) calculates that the economic contribution of care, unpaid work, represents on average 21.3% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the region. 'Ultimately, with this summit in Santa Marta, we have achieved our objectives of advancing and consolidating the bi-regional relationship in multiple areas, so that the economic progress of our peoples goes hand in hand with development, social justice and human rights because that is the conviction at the heart of the bond between Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean,' indicated Costa. For his part, the Colombian head of state, Gustavo Petro, host of the meeting, in his capacity as President of CELAC, celebrated the 'great success' that, in his opinion, the summit was, despite the low attendance of leaders and its duration being reduced from the two days initially planned to just one. Of the 60 countries invited to the summit - 33 from CELAC and 27 from the EU - only nine heads of state or government attended. Among them were the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Brazilian head of state, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who participated in the opening session but did not stay until the end of the meeting. Criticism of the USA. 'Rhetorical maneuvers of the past are recycled to justify illegal interventions,' stated Lula. Support for free trade and multilateralism. The commercial theme was also present at the summit, where the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, presented this Sunday to the EU as 'a predictable and reliable partner.' 'The European position is clear: we are going to continue to be a predictable and reliable trading partner, we are proud of our network of agreements, we are working to finalize agreements with Mercosur and update our agreement with Mexico,' stated the head of European diplomacy. The 'Declaration of Santa Marta' reiterated the commitment of the two blocks 'to a multilateral trading system based on rules, sustained in international law, that is open, transparent, inclusive, non-discriminatory and predictable, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core.' In his closed-door intervention at the plenary session of the summit, Sánchez called for strengthening CELAC-EU unity in defense of free trade and international law, alluding, although without explicitly naming them, to the United States' attacks on supposed narco-boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific. The Spanish Government informed of the content of his speech, in which he never mentioned the President of the United States, Donald Trump, but did include references to the situation caused by some decisions of his administration. The same tone was followed by other leaders, including Petro and Lula, who made references to the US operation against drugs in the waters of the Caribbean and the Pacific. 'The threat of the use of military force has once again become part of the everyday in Latin America and the Caribbean.'
