The Third CELAC-EU Summit of Heads of State and Government will be held in Brussels, Belgium, on July 17 and 18.
The leaders from both regions will meet again after an 8-year hiatus, in the midst of a very complex international context.
The truth is that, over and above statements and declarations, bi-regional relations have hardly advanced and during the most recent period they have even regressed.
The Summit can be an opportunity to start changing that situation. But there are reasons for concern.
The lack of transparency and the manipulative behavior of the European Union during the preparations of the Summit seriously jeopardize the successful outcome of the meeting.
There has been an attempt to impose restrictive and divisive formats that prevent straightforward and transparent discussions, as well as an intention to conceal the content of the debates from the media and the public opinion.
Several fora are being organized in parallel with the Summit. The European side has even decided on its own who would be the representatives of our regions in those events.
Such a conduct, besides being disrespectful, creates the conditions so that these fora could be turned into platforms to attack and single out CELAC member countries.
The behavior of the European Union jeopardizes the possibility to achieve final agreements at the Summit.
Our region has changed. CELAC is the sound and unitary voice of Latin America and the Caribbean and should be respected.
Those who may attempt to impose a biased and pro-European vision on bi-regional relations, in an effort to ignore the priorities and interests of our region will have no possibility of success in Brussels.
There’s very little time before the Summit, but it is not too late to prevent a fiasco.
The Summit can and should be a space for a serious, participatory and pluralistic dialogue that may identify solutions in order to collectively face, despite our differences, the multiple global challenges affecting us.
We look forward to a Summit that would make it possible to expand inclusive and mutually beneficial cooperation in high priority areas, such as financing for development, the combat of climate change, food security and renewable energies, among others.
We look forward to a meeting that will reaffirm the strict observance of the United Nations Charter and International Law and the postulates of the “Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.”
Cuba will attend the Summit in Brussels with a constructive spirit and will contribute as much as possible, on the basis of equality and mutual respect, to strengthen dialogue and cooperation between CELAC and the European Union, for the benefit of our peoples in both regions of the world.
(Cubaminrex)