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The EU wants to avoid “dependencies” on China as in the case of Russian gas

To limit this risk of dependency, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, wants in particular to strengthen trade with Latin America in 2023.

The European Union seeks to avoid being dependent on China as it has been on Russian gas, the head of diplomacy of the 27, Josep Borrell, said this Saturday, calling for strengthening trade with Latin America. “We discovered that dependencies, which were the foundations of peace, are also weapons that can be turned against us,” Josep Borrell said, pointing to Europe’s “excessive dependence on Russian gas.” This was highlighted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as Moscow restricted its gas deliveries to Europe and forced the continent to find other supply routes.

According to him, this dependency “makes (Vladimir) Putin think that he could invade Ukraine with complete impunity because Europe, a prisoner of our gas consumption, 40% of which comes from Russia, would not react.” “We want to avoid our relationship with China making us dependent as we have been on Russia,” he said during his speech at the Ibero-American Summit in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Trade agreements with Latin America in 2023

The head of EU diplomacy considered that 2023 is a “key year” to close agreements elsewhere, in particular with Latin America, ahead of the summit between the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to mid july. “Europe and Latin America have the opportunity to show that their trade relationship is always a source of progress”, continues Josep Borrell, adding that European investments in Latin America are higher than those of Russia, China, India and Japan “combined”.

According to a report by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), 36% of the $142 billion of foreign investment in the region came from Europe in 2021.

Author: TT with AFP
Source: BFM TV

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