Energy security high on EU-Latin America summit talks
Energy security is set to feature high at today's EU-Latin America summit in Vienna amid concerns about protectionist trends in Bolivia and Venezuela.
Bolivian president Evo Morales recently nationalised the country's energy industry affecting some companies from EU member states by giving them six months to renegotiate a contract or to leave.
Bolivia has the world's second largest natural gas reserves after Venezuela, which is also one of the world's most oil-rich countries.
An ally of Mr Morales, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, also announced recently that he would introduce a new tax targeting foreign oil companies in an effort to reach a larger share of the rising energy revenues.
EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said ahead of the meeting that "to nationalize is a sovereign right" that should be exerted with extreme caution.
"It is up to us to take advantage of this summit to make our partnership stronger and more effective and to engage in closer political dialogue," said commission president Jose Manuel Barroso in a statement before the Vienna summit.
"Vienna is without any doubt an opportunity that we cannot afford to miss".
Cross-Atlantic trade
The EU is the second-largest trading partner of South America, the Caribbean and Mexico.
Economic and trade links have gradually strengthened across the Atlantic resulting in trade figures that more than doubled between 1990 and 2005.
In 2005, EU imports from South America, Mexico and the Caribbean totalled €71 billion, and exports to the region amounted to €62 billion - leaving a trade surplus of €9 billion for the Latin American region, according to the European Commission.
Meanwhile, EU investments in the region almost doubled from €176.5 billion in 2000 to €287 billion for 2004. The EU is the second leading investor in Latin America just after the US.
Chancellor Schussel of Austria, currently holding the rotating EU Presidency, and the President of Mexico, Vincente Fox, will co-chair the summit of 58 state or regional leaders.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will also address the summit and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been invited as a special guest of Mr Schussel.
The three-day meeting will kick off with a foreign ministers talk followed by an informal leaders' dinner.
Bolivian president Evo Morales recently nationalised the country's energy industry affecting some companies from EU member states by giving them six months to renegotiate a contract or to leave.
Bolivia has the world's second largest natural gas reserves after Venezuela, which is also one of the world's most oil-rich countries.
An ally of Mr Morales, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, also announced recently that he would introduce a new tax targeting foreign oil companies in an effort to reach a larger share of the rising energy revenues.
EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said ahead of the meeting that "to nationalize is a sovereign right" that should be exerted with extreme caution.
"It is up to us to take advantage of this summit to make our partnership stronger and more effective and to engage in closer political dialogue," said commission president Jose Manuel Barroso in a statement before the Vienna summit.
"Vienna is without any doubt an opportunity that we cannot afford to miss".
Cross-Atlantic trade
The EU is the second-largest trading partner of South America, the Caribbean and Mexico.
Economic and trade links have gradually strengthened across the Atlantic resulting in trade figures that more than doubled between 1990 and 2005.
In 2005, EU imports from South America, Mexico and the Caribbean totalled €71 billion, and exports to the region amounted to €62 billion - leaving a trade surplus of €9 billion for the Latin American region, according to the European Commission.
Meanwhile, EU investments in the region almost doubled from €176.5 billion in 2000 to €287 billion for 2004. The EU is the second leading investor in Latin America just after the US.
Chancellor Schussel of Austria, currently holding the rotating EU Presidency, and the President of Mexico, Vincente Fox, will co-chair the summit of 58 state or regional leaders.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will also address the summit and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been invited as a special guest of Mr Schussel.
The three-day meeting will kick off with a foreign ministers talk followed by an informal leaders' dinner.
posted by Marko at 5/11/2006 10:18:00 AM
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