Yesterday, CELAC and the EU held their fourth summit in Santa Marta, Colombia and discussed further cooperation agreements on satellites, communications, and supercomputers. The EU will provide access to Caribbean countries to the EU’s Copernicus Satellite System to help them manage climate disasters. The EU and CELAC will also extend the BELLA cable which currently connects up to 65 million, to Central America and Peru. The BELLA programme is an existing undersea cable between Europe and Latin America.
Preparations are also ongoing for the signing of a free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur which will create the biggest free trade agreement in the world. The trade relationship between CELAC and the EU already comprises one-fifth of the global economy. The Community of Latin American Countries includes most of the Latin American countries with 33 members. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said that with the planned agreement, Latin America and Europe would be able to trade freely. She underlined that in a world of confrontations, friendships are what counts, highlighting the positive relations between the EU and Latin American countries.
The EU aims to remove tariff barriers with Mercosur countries to facilitate trade and increase exports. Mercosur will also remove tariffs and both sides will cut quotas on agriculture and food products. MERCOSUR members include Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Preparatory documents for the agreement can be found here.
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