European Union – Latin America: Arrangements and Competition

Abstract

The idea of dialogue became the unspoken “core” of the EU – Latin America interregional relations, where the creation of the network of trade agreements played an important role, in which the EU was able to succeed noticeably. This article is devoted to political aspects of the chain of trade agreements with Latin America created by the European Union as one of the foundations of the whole complex of interregional relations that develop in accordance with the priority of economy over politics. The nature of development of each of these routes of interaction, the results, as well as the barriers that the EU–LAC dialogue faces, make it possible to identify the possibilities and limits of cooperation between the two regions in the face of increasing struggle for influence in the Western Hemisphere. The paper explores the main trade agreements: EU–Mexico, EU–Chile, EU – Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, EU–Caribbean, EU – Central America, and EU–MERCOSUR. The author concludes that the changes that have taken place at the international level, as well as in Europe and the LAC in recent years, with the increasing influence of new global players in Latin America, primarily China, yet again calls into question European leadership in this part of the world. It was the feeling of “closeness” that became an important factor in China’s rapid expansion in Latin America, which Brussels has not paid due attention to in recent years. And this has led to the fact that the idea of confronting the growing struggle for influence in the Western Hemisphere has gradually become a red thread that belittles EU strategy in Latin America.