Speaking at a press conference following the EU-Caribbean countries 'Cariforum summit' in Madrid, several EU leaders, including Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, highlighted the value of regional collaboration in Latin America and praised the example of the EU.
Zapatero said that it would be "great news" if Latin American countries were to strengthen their relationship, "because in this historic era of globalisation, regional integration is a stabilising factor". "I would definitely support a Latin American Union, it would be a great project," concluded Zapatero, quoted by the Spanish Presidency website.
Commenting on the prospect that Latin American countries one day forming a type of union, Barroso said "we are ready". "Our hearts are with regional integration, because the EU is a success story". Van Rompuy stated that the EU should not give "lessons" to Latin American countries, but can offer itself as an example.
The EU-Caribbean forum focused on extending bilateral relations to include global challenges such as climate change and natural disasters that affect the Caribbean region in particular, such as the Haiti earthquake in January.
Maxine McClean, secretary-general of Cariforum and minister of foreign affairs for Barbados, said that the earthquake in January in Haiti "is proof and an example of the tough reality of climate change". In her opinion, the whole economic development strategy for the region should take into account the significance of global warming for developing countries.
Cariforum is a group of 18 Caribbean countries created in 1992 to facilitate administrative aspects of monies assigned to the region by the European Development Fund (EDF), among other issues.
