Paving the way towards a European Union-Argentina stronger partnership

By Estudio Chaloupka

European Union High Representative/Vice President Josep Borrell travelled to Argentina from 24 to 31 October, 2022, to stress the interest of the EU as a leading investor in the country.

The EU is Argentina’s third biggest trade partner, and the biggest foreign investor in the country. In 2017, European companies held almost 44% of the foreign investment stock in the country. The European Investment Bank currently lends EUR 655 million to Argentina.

The EU seeks to strengthen cooperation on energy and raw materials with Argentina, which forms with Bolivia and Chile the “lithium triangle”. To that aim, the HR/VP has announced the upcoming signature of a Memorandum of Understanding on energy between Argentina and the EU to cooperate on renewables and green hydrogen and promote the development of LNG for export to Europe.
The Digital and Green transition is a focal point of the strengthened partnership. The EU will work together with Argentina on regulations and policies which are crucial for the successful proceeding of the digital revolution.

Argentina is also a significant technological and scientific player in the region. The EU and Argentina have a particular interest in collaborating in the field of space technology. In 2022, a technical mission concluded that EU systems such as Copernicus and Galileo could reinforce Argentina’s already high capacity in areas such as precision agriculture; applications of Industry 4.0; transport and energy; monitoring of forestry activity; and crisis management such as large fires that affect the country. These systems are already available and offer open data to researchers, companies and public services.