Europa Global: los verdaderos intereses de la estrategia comercial de la UE para someter a los pueblos a la tiranía del “libre comercio”

This report by Friends of the Earth International critiques the European Union's 'Global Europe' strategy, arguing that it uses Association Agreements and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to secure raw materials, energy reserves, and open markets for European transnational corporations at the expense of the sovereignty and food security of countries in the Global South.

• The 'Global Europe' strategy is described as a political and economic agenda designed to increase the competitiveness of European companies by securing access to strategic natural resources, including minerals, oil, energy, biodiversity, and water, while opening service sectors and government procurement in developing countries.
• The EU's 'Raw Materials Initiative,' launched in November 2008, aims to minimize the risk of supply shortages for European industries (such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and aerospace) by removing trade barriers and export restrictions in the Global South, which the report claims undermines the environmental regulations and sovereignty of those nations.
• In Central America, the EU's Association Agreement is criticized for favoring powerful agro-exporting oligarchies focused on monocultures (such as palm oil and sugar cane) while harming small-scale peasant farmers and threatening food sovereignty.
• The report highlights the use of 'flexible' Rules of Origin for coffee and sugar in Central American negotiations, which would allow the EU to import raw materials from third countries, process them in Europe, and then export them to Central America duty-free, potentially displacing local production.
• The EU's trade strategy promotes the expansion of biofuels in Central America, which the document links to land grabs, deforestation, and a decrease in the production of basic food grains like corn and beans in countries such as Guatemala and Honduras.
• European financial institutions, including the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB), are cited as key facilitators of European capital expansion in Latin America, financing large-scale infrastructure and extractive projects that have caused environmental and social conflicts.
• In Africa, the EU has pressured countries to sign 'interim' Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) to maintain tariff preferences for their exports, while requiring them to open their services, investment, and government procurement sectors to European firms.
• The report claims that the EU's trade approach in the Caribbean, specifically the Association Agreement signed in October 2008, was conducted under 'coercion,' with some countries fearing the collapse of regional integration and the destruction of fragile local economies.
• In Asia, the EU is pursuing FTAs with India and South Korea and seeking a regional agreement with ASEAN, though it has shifted toward bilateral negotiations with countries like Vietnam and Singapore to accelerate the process, which the report suggests undermines ASEAN's internal integration.
• The document argues that 'Global Europe' also negatively impacts European citizens by promoting internal deregulation and the reduction of social and environmental standards to increase the 'competitiveness' of European corporations.

APA

valdomir, S. (2008). Europa Global: los verdaderos intereses de la estrategia comercial de la UE para someter a los pueblos a la tiranía del “libre comercio”. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Redes-Marzo_09_baja-resolucion.pdf

Chicago

valdomir, sebastián. Europa Global: los verdaderos intereses de la estrategia comercial de la UE para someter a los pueblos a la tiranía del “libre comercio”. Friends of the Earth International, 2008. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Redes-Marzo_09_baja-resolucion.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=valdomir |first1=sebastián |title=Europa Global: los verdaderos intereses de la estrategia comercial de la UE para someter a los pueblos a la tiranía del “libre comercio” |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=December 2008 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Redes-Marzo_09_baja-resolucion.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{valdomir2008europa, author = {valdomir, sebastián}, title = {{Europa Global: los verdaderos intereses de la estrategia comercial de la UE para someter a los pueblos a la tiranía del “libre comercio”}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2008}, month = dec, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Redes-Marzo_09_baja-resolucion.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }