Keynote speech by President von der Leyen at the EU-Argentina Business Forum, with right infrastructure for electricity and green hydrogen, they can power Argentina and the world.
Mr President,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I very much thank you for the invitation here. It is such a pleasure to be here, in Buenos Aires, in Argentina. It is a country of breathtaking beauty, if you look at the whole country from the Amazon, down the peaks of the Andes, to the glaciers of Patagonia. And indeed, I had the pleasure to see a bit more of the city, what a fantastic city you have here. It is good to be here and many thanks for having invited me.
There is so much that we, Argentinians and Europeans, have in common. We share indeed deep historical and cultural ties. We are the oldest of friends. In many cases, we are family. We uphold common values; we share mutual interests – including a passion for football. And I must admit that as President of the European Commission, I of course supported France in the FIFA World Cup final. But Argentina’s performance was just spectacular.
Congratulations on a well-deserved victory. We have always been natural partners and friends. Let me borrow the words of Raúl Alfonsín, your first modern democratic President. 40 years ago, he was in Strasbourg and he was speaking to the European Parliament. He was there just a few months after winning the historic elections of 1983.
Raúl Alfonsín, said:
Europe seems so diverse, but is also so united.
“Latin America seems so united, but is also so diverse. We are brought together by the same values, the same democratic conviction. So we are bound to work together.”
This was true 40 years ago when both Argentina and southern European countries were moving from dictatorship to democracy. And it is still true today. We are brought together by the same values, we share the same democratic conviction. And our shared foundation is indeed robust.
After 40 years of cooperation, nearly half of all foreign direct investment into Argentina comes from the European Union. We are your third largest trading partner, and European companies are responsible for almost 300,000 jobs here in Argentina. It starts with financial services via chemicals, via the pharmaceutical industry, and of course the automotive manufacturing. But there is so much more we can do together.
The potential of our friendship is so much bigger. Today, our economic agendas, if you look at them, overlap like never before: for example, on clean energy, on raw materials, on digital infrastructure. So I think it is time that we launch a new era of cooperation between old friends.
That is the reason why I am here today. And I see two main avenues for Argentina and Europe to grow closer. First, we have indeed the historic opportunity to finally push the EU-Mercosur agreement across the finish line. I am committed to conclude this Mercosur agreement as soon as possible. And I think, let us get it done before the end of the year. That should be our common goal.
The EU-Mercosur agreement is the largest and the most ambitious trade deal both the European Union and Mercosur have ever negotiated. It would bring together two of the world’s largest trading blocs, with a combined population of over 700 million consumers. The potential for economic progress is immense.
Let me give you an example: A few weeks ago, I was in South Korea. There I saw the impressive positive impact of the trade deal we have concluded. In a little over a decade, EU trade with Korea has grown by 110%. This is what happens when you give people and business the opportunity to work across borders. Trade increases exponentially.
The economy flourishes. And the most important: People benefit. So let us do it. This is why Mercosur and the European Union should address the final outstanding issues still this year. And I very much count on Argentina as the current chair of Mercosur to do its fair share, too.
But beyond trade, there is so much more potential to our friendship. You have so many bright and passionate young people. Your education system ranks the highest in Latin America, higher than most G20 nations. You boast universities that rank among the best in the world, like the Instituto Balseiro or the Universidad de Buenos Aires which actually produced five Nobel Prize laureates. You can be so proud of it.
Or take your tech companies. 20% of the Unicorns in Latin America are from Argentina. Innovators like Globant and Mercado Libre. Or look at your Argentine company that produces radioisotopes for cancer treatments in European hospitals. That saves lives.
But as entrepreneurs everywhere, Argentinian entrepreneurs and problem-solvers need investment. This is where Europe can truly make a difference. And investment needs a predictable and conducive environment. And that is where Argentina can make a difference. Back to the investment, let me give you two examples: clean energy and raw materials – just to see and to show what we can do together.
As you might know, Europe has committed to be the first climate neutral continent by 2050. But to succeed in this journey, Europe will need massive supplies of renewable energy. Your country has all it takes to become a renewable energy powerhouse. In large parts of your beautiful country, in the large plateau of the South, you can only hear one sound: this is the sound of the wind, running undisturbed. You have harvested this natural resource that is there in abundance. In the last four years, Argentina has increased its wind power by a factor of 20.
The extraordinary Patagonian winds are a blessing of nature. If you create the right infrastructure for electricity and green hydrogen, they can power Argentina and the world. And Europe stands ready to invest. Together, we can build a stable and reliable partnership. So in the end, if we think it through and if we make it happen, renewables from Argentina would not only bring clean and sustainable energy to the world but also well-paying jobs and revenues to Argentina. Let us embark on that journey together.
Let me give you another example. On lithium, some call it the white gold for electrification of our economies. You have among the world’s largest reserves of lithium. And you have a robust manufacturing sector, including for vehicles. Let me just give you two figures: Two years ago, of 25 vehicles sold globally, 1 was an electric vehicle. Today, only two years later, of 5 vehicles sold globally, 1 was an electric vehicle.
The demand for electric vehicles is skyrocketing. And this is just the beginning because do not forget: no battery without lithium. And here too, Argentina can become a major partner for Europe. Together, we are able to build resilient supply chains for batteries. And I think important is, different to today, that the added value stays here in Argentina. In other words: Together we will develop value chains that go beyond only extraction.
That is the case today. But if you go beyond that, this creates jobs and opportunities along the whole value chain in Argentina. To that end, I am happy that we signed today a Memorandum of Understanding on critical raw materials. This is a great step forward and we will both benefit from it.
So far for the two examples of lithium and renewable energy, but you can add countless other examples that follow the same pattern. It is precisely to support this kind of investment that I have just described that we have created our Global Gateway investment plan. Global Gateway has already launched 90 projects worldwide this year.
And for Latin America and the Caribbean, I am pleased to announce that we are almost doubling our investments for the projects in the region. The European Union alone will make EUR 10 billion available. This will be complemented by the contribution from our Members States and of course by the contribution from the private sector.
But it is not only about the money, it is also about the method. Investments from elsewhere often come with strings attached, the famous footnotes, or lead to harmful dependencies. Our approach is different. What you see is what you get. The projects are tailored to local realities, but they share the same principles.
The first one is sustainability. We want to guarantee the highest environmental standards. We want that local communities benefit. And we want to ensure financial transparency, which is so essential for the predictability that investors need.
Global Gateway is bringing together companies, financial institutions, public and private investors and all the relevant actors. Global Gateway can be the boost that Argentina’s high-value industry needs. Our teams already identify projects on the ground. Let us get to work and let us get it done together.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me raise a final point. And at the very beginning, you were mentioning the geopolitical tensions we are experiencing. And in a time of geopolitical tensions, we want our like-minded Latin American friends at our side. We should not forget that for decades, both Europe and Latin America have been an integral part of building a world order based on rules, with the United Nations system at its core.
The very first few words of the United Nations Charter proclaim the determination of the peoples of the United Nations to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. Unfortunately, we all know war and conflict have not been eliminated from our planet. When Russia – a nuclear-armed permanent member of the UN Security Council – sent its tanks over the borders of Ukraine last year, to conquer its sovereign neighbour, this was simply a war of choice, and it was a direct strike on our international order and the UN Charter that we all depend on.
Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, I have been in Kyiv several times. I have been in Bucha, right after the liberation of Bucha. I saw the mass graves, I saw the body bags lined up. I saw the scars from missiles sent to terrorise civilians, destroying homes, hospitals, schools and kindergartens. Of course, we want peace.
And no one more than the Ukrainians want peace. But it must be a just peace. It must be a just and lasting peace that upholds the principles of the UN Charter. Enshrined in the UN Charter is for example the principle of sovereignty and territorial integrity for each and every country on this globe. And of course we want a just peace that upholds the Ukrainian people’s right to be the masters of their own future.
President Zelenskyy has come forward with a Peace Formula. Every one of his ten points in his ten-point Peace Formula is based on the principles of the UN Charter and deducted from UN resolutions. And he has invited countries around the world to join in and build on that Peace Formula. I want to thank Argentina for your unwavering and steadfast support in the multilateral fora that we have in the United Nations.
You voted on every single resolution concerning this topic with us. And we really thank you for that clear commitment and clear standing. We will not forget that. I think that our starting point for peace therefore should be the rules-based order because the people of Ukraine deserve an end to their suffering.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear friends,
Europe wants to launch a new partnership with Argentina. A partnership that puts people and their passion for innovation first. I have just been to the exhibition. It is fascinating to see the young people there.
It is amazing to see the innovation that is in that room, the nature-based solutions these young people have found, the passion with which they have developed their project and have been presenting it to me. We want a partnership that puts these people first. We want a partnership of democracies standing together. We want a partnership of shared prosperity. In other words, we want a new beginning for old friends.
Many thanks.
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Keynote speech by President von der Leyen at the EU-Argentina Business Forum, June 13, 2023
