The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has driven up the cost of importing fossil fuels, while Europe\u2019s trade deficit with China amounts to \u20ac1 billion a day. Against this backdrop, von der Leyen stressed that the top priority for an independent Europe is to revive the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Latin America\u2019s economy is slowing its growth<\/a>, and governments must strike a balance between closer ties with the United States and China. The region can therefore position itself strategically as a reliable supplier of critical raw materials, helping to diversify risk and reduce energy prices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, biregional trade and investment will also benefit from the Single Market roadmap, streamlined permitting procedures and reduced administrative burdens, as well as the announced Savings and Investment Union and the new banking package announced by Ursula von der Leyen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is worth recalling that the president’s reference to the need to achieve fiscal sustainability came amid arduous negotiations over the Union\u2019s next budget for 2028\u20132035. In this regard, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), whose definitive implementation began in January 2026, is the region\u2019s main source of concern, particularly for exporters from Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two turning points: climate change and artificial intelligence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In von der Leyen\u2019s words, \u201cthis summer has been the summer of truth,\u201d highlighting the devastating impacts of climate change. At the same time, the Latin American region will continue to be battered by a super El Ni\u00f1o in the coming months. Hence, cooperation in support of the planet and communities\u2014whether through the exchange of experiences, the Global Gateway European Investment Agenda<\/a>, or coordination in multilateral forums such as COP\u2014could gain momentum thanks to the European Commission President\u2019s proposals for climate-change adaptation technologies, climate insurance partnerships, and initiatives addressing water, wildfires and heatwaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At a time when there are growing public calls to rein in AI, the European Union and Latin America share an interest in empowering rather than replacing people and face the concentration of technology companies in the United States and China. In her speech, Ursula von der Leyen pledged to strengthen cooperation with like-minded partners in model evaluation and early warning systems. As several Latin American countries move forward with AI regulation and support local solutions, this cooperation could take shape through the EU\u2013CELAC Digital Alliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Defense and the distribution of prosperity: foreign policy and security<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The most surprising proposal in the speech was associated membership for Canada, followed by the creation of a European Security Council. If implemented, both initiatives could pave the way for other non-European countries seeking to align themselves with the European Union to counter Donald Trump\u2019s steep tariffs<\/a>. However, such alignment would require Latin American countries to unequivocally condemn Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The speech\u2019s only direct reference to the region concerned the recent signing of the free trade agreement with MERCOSUR. The CETA agreement with Canada could serve as an example for it, given the 75% increase in trade in less than a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nevertheless, international relations received little attention from von der Leyen, in particular in contrast with her speeches during her first years in office<\/a>, when she extensively defended multilateralism and its reform\u2014a priority issue for the region, which is soon expected to have its first female Secretary-General of the United Nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The guidelines outlined above will be crucial for European ambassadors, particularly those who have just taken up their posts on September 1 in countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama. As like-minded partners, over the next 12 months Latin American countries and the European Union can work together to forge alliances among middle powers<\/a> in the face of the unpredictability of the American friend<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Europe and Latin America share strategic interests in an uncertain world, but the challenge is to turn these common interests into a stronger alliance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":949,"featured_media":59248,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16868,16831],"tags":[15635],"gps":[],"class_list":["post-59287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-relaiciones-internacionales-en","category-union-europea-es-en","tag-debates"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/949"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59287"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59287\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59290,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59287\/revisions\/59290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59287"},{"taxonomy":"gps","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gps?post=59287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/latinoamerica21.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/L21-Banner-INGLES-1024x190.png\")
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