Latin America Flexes Muscles at Joint EU Summit
By Marianela Jarroud
SANTIAGO, Jan 29 2013 (IPS) - The nations of Latin America and the Caribbean strengthened their position with respect to Europe at the CELAC-EU summit held this weekend in the Chilean capital, reaching agreements that protect their natural resources from foreign investors and securing a joint condemnation of the United States trade embargo against Cuba.
The 33 heads of state and high representatives of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) managed significant amendments in the Declaration of Santiago signed on Sunday Jan. 27 with the 27 member states of the European Union, changing in their favour the key articles that establish the legal framework for foreign investment in the region.
Legal certainty is the leading issue of contention with the EU, not because the countries of the region are unwilling to provide it, but because each country has its own view and is adopting its own process, Bolivian Communications Minister Amanda Dávila told IPS.
The countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) expressed their opinion on sovereignty and voiced their legitimate right to adopt their own policies and to disagree with positions and commitments regarding positions originating in other blocs, she added.
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