The Genesis of the European Community’s Central America Policy: 1975–84

Abstract

The EC/EU has never displayed much interest in Latin America as a whole, despite the occasional rhetorical genuflection to the need to improve political relations and to help West European businesses exploit the potential markets of the sub-continent. The nearest the EC came to being involved in Latin American politics was in 1982, when for a few weeks it was able to provide a short-lived display of unity with Britain during the Falklands/Malvinas War.¹ The Mexican debt crisis of the same year caused Western European banks and governments to reformulate their Latin American policies, but despite Commissioner Claude Cheysson’s best efforts the member states refused to allow the Community to become involved in negotiations with the Latin American debtor states.²