Foreign Office Minister, Chris Bryant, visited Madrid to discuss policy towards Latin America, with a particular focus on climate change in UK, Spain and Latin America.  

 

In a speech on the visit, he called for a more powerful and productive partnership between the EU and Latin America in order to tackle global issues. 

 

'Of course the EU sees Latin America as a natural ally', said Chris Bryant speaking at the Casa America organisation in Madrid on 14 September. 'We have lots of shared fundamental values, but we do not always work together to turn these values into reality'.

 

Spain's Presidency of the EU in the first six months of next year will be an important time for EU-Latin American relations. Chris Bryant said the UK wanted to 'take advantage of its good bilateral relations with Spain to deliver shared objectives in Latin America during the Presidency'.

 

He called on Latin American countries to 'raise their influential voices' on economic reform and for the EU and Latin America to cooperate more to deliver an international climate change agreement.

 

These are just two of the global issues on which progress can be made if the EU and Latin America work together. But, said the Minister, it would take 'a genuine commitment [by the EU] if we are to help Latin America reach its potential'.

 

Latin America's vulnerability to climate change

 

'Latin America's vulnerability to climate change is alarming. Fifty percent of its farmlands could become desert. The glaciers in the Andes, on which millions depend for their water and electricity, are already melting. In Latin America and the Caribbean, there are 66 cities that are threatened with flooding'.

 

'That is why we must foster more fruitful EU-Latin-American cooperation on climate change. Each of us has different skills. So together, we can play a leadership role in this matter'.

 

'In economic terms, we know that the costs of not taking action are greater than the costs of doing something. Climate change is a multiplier of threats.
In this debate, Spain occupies a privileged position, thanks to its shared language and its historic ties'.

 

'We cannot fail in Copenhagen. There is too much at stake. Without Latin America, we cannot achieve the right treatment for this issue in December'.

 

 

Related links

Transcript of Chris Bryant's speech