Mogherini's visit to the seventh Summit of the Americas in Panama City on April 10 and 11, is this first time the European Union has been represented at the forum and is a milestone in EU-Americas relations.
Ceremony and Multilateral Protocol for the #VIISummit of the Americas http://t.co/pBkDbmv0Ym pic.twitter.com/Ugn4PZrKsU
— Summit of Panama (@CumbrePanamaEN) April 10, 2015
President Obama's attendance has added importance in that it marks the highest-level meeting between the US president and Cuba's President Raúl Castro. On Thursday, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez began the process of rapprochement in a pre-summit meeting during which Kerry said he had "made progress" in talks with Cuba's foreign minister.
US-Cuban diplomacy: State Dept says John Kerry meeting Cuban Foreign Minister Rodriguez tonight in Panama, ahead of Summit of the Americas.
— Carol Rosenberg (@carolrosenberg) April 10, 2015
The two countries have been in a fifty-year stand-off that began with the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, when the US and the Soviet Union escalated tensions to near nuclear war over Soviet nuclear warheads in Cuba. However, Obama is keen to seek a warming-up of relations — not least because his policy of isolating Cuba has been a diplomatic failure.
US Cuban Climbdown
After years of the trade blockade, Obama has finally realized he needs to show mercy. Yet this may not be just for humanity's sake. Obama is keen to pay back the young Hispanic Democrats who swept him to power. Most young Cuban-Americans want an end to the trade embargo and are pressing for a diplomatic thaw. For Obama, it's a political move.
A study in contrasts. Today Obama is meeting w/ Castro. In 2013, Ted Cruz walked out on Raul Castro http://t.co/5S8IOGWdMW
— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) April 10, 2015
On Cuba's part, it badly needs hard currency, as its dependence on subsidised Venezuelan oil is rapidly coming to an end, owing to the plunge in global oil prices. With the US hell-bent on fracking and having vast oil reserves, energy — as well as US tourism — will be key to the growth of Cuba's economy.
Europe's Olive Branch to South America
For EU Foreign Affairs chief Mogherini (importantly, she is also Vice-President of the European Commission) this is a landmark visit. Never before has a representative of the EU been invited to the Summit of the Americas.
#EU & #Cuba | @FedericaMog attends a wreath laying ceremony at Revolution Square in #Havana pic.twitter.com/EHuLpyzDbe
— EU External Action (@eu_eeas) March 25, 2015
The EU finds itself in a tough situation, having spent years expanding and creating its currency, the Euro. The single currency has created economic and political turmoil, as the member states have struggled to synchronise historically different economic cycles.
Her second headache is the continuing EU-Russian sanctions over the Ukraine crisis, which has put European gas supplies from Russia in peril.
The drop in global oil and gas prices has also hit the EU hard, piling on the economic knock-one effects of the sanctions, which — although intended to hit Russia hardest — are also having a detrimental effect of some EU member states who may not support continuation of those sanctions after June.
Primera visita de la UE a #Cuba para relancar relation bilateral y acompañar reformas. Encuentro con Raul Castro pic.twitter.com/tuUyQlIH74"
— Federica Mogherini (@FedericaMog) March 25, 2015
Thus, Mogherini is keen to look across the Atlantic — and particularly to South America — to build stronger economic and diplomatic ties. Ahead of the summit, she said:
"The Summit of the Americas comes at a moment of great changes in the region. The EU already has close relations with the Americas. We share history, cultural affinity and strong social contacts, but also some common principles and values, and a strong belief in multilateralism. Strengthening further our relation is therefore one of my strategic priorities."
Obama and Mogherini have much to gain, for different reasons, from the Summit of the Americas — and both need to show the Americas humility.
