By Belén Carreño and Philip Blenkinsop
MADRID/Brussels (Reuters) -The European Commission said that concluding the Mercosur-EU agreement is a priority, adding that Latin America and Europe should work on reducing “excessive dependency” on third countries, according to a document seen by Reuters on Monday.
Brussels is launching a political and economic offensive on Latin America to secure priority access to the region’s resources – especially raw materials – identifying the region as a potential close ally in the face of “increasing geopolitical challenges”, mainly the product of the Ukraine invasion by Russia.
In a communication to be presented on June 7 and seen in advance by Reuters, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell sets out a roadmap for concluding a number of free trade and partnership agreements with Latin American countries as soon as possible, as well as for boosting bilateral relations with Mexico and Brazil.
(Reporting by Belen Carreno in Madrid, Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; editing by Inti Landauro and Charlie Devereux)
