Comments on: The Madrid Summit 2010: fiesta or siesta? http://europeangeostrategy.ideasoneurope.eu/2009/10/20/eu-and-the-2010-madrid-summit/ Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:20:52 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Alexis Brizzi http://europeangeostrategy.ideasoneurope.eu/2009/10/20/eu-and-the-2010-madrid-summit/#comment-346 Alexis Brizzi Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:43:51 +0000 http://europeangeostrategy.ideasoneurope.eu/?p=526#comment-346 In my opinion, the Latin America mosaic is way too complex and fragmented to be dealt with as a unique partner through these kind of general summits, which is why major Western European nation states have privileged bilateral talks so far. Not to mention that Europe itself has been far too fragmented in the past to deal on a bloc level as you rightly pointed out... What do you think of the French (and therefore by default European) strong alliance with Brazil and the sale of advanced military equipment such as submarines and aircraft? Isn't this a direct challenge to American dominance on the Latin continent? We know some are anti-American, including Venezuela and to some extent Argentina; there are also pro-Americans like Colombia, which decided to open its bases to an American military presence. These is also Brazil, which is an equilibrium power, seeking first a regional and then global emergence as a responsible 'superpower'. That's an interesting chessboard. If the French strategy (which seems to be using Brazil as a springboard to counterbalance the American presence and favour French/European industries by selling/dumping advanced technologies to Brazil) turned out successful, how much would it benefit Europe in the region and what potential axis do you foresee in Latin America? In my opinion, the Latin America mosaic is way too complex and fragmented to be dealt with as a unique partner through these kind of general summits, which is why major Western European nation states have privileged bilateral talks so far. Not to mention that Europe itself has been far too fragmented in the past to deal on a bloc level as you rightly pointed out…

What do you think of the French (and therefore by default European) strong alliance with Brazil and the sale of advanced military equipment such as submarines and aircraft? Isn’t this a direct challenge to American dominance on the Latin continent? We know some are anti-American, including Venezuela and to some extent Argentina; there are also pro-Americans like Colombia, which decided to open its bases to an American military presence. These is also Brazil, which is an equilibrium power, seeking first a regional and then global emergence as a responsible ’superpower’. That’s an interesting chessboard. If the French strategy (which seems to be using Brazil as a springboard to counterbalance the American presence and favour French/European industries by selling/dumping advanced technologies to Brazil) turned out successful, how much would it benefit Europe in the region and what potential axis do you foresee in Latin America?

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