Hats off to the EU! European Parliament to open office in Panama

STRASBOURG — Good news for fans of EU enlargement!

The European Parliament decided this week to open an office in Panama in coordination with the European External Action Service, according to a confidential note seen by POLITICO.

The senior MEPs who make up the Parliament’s bureau signed off on the move in a meeting behind closed doors on Monday evening.

“Parliament staff would be seconded to the EU delegation in Panama,” according to the note. The bureau endorsed a plan to set up what it called an “antenna office” back in the summer — and chose Panama as a location on Monday night.

An official from a right-wing group in the Parliament, who requested anonymity, said her only comment was: “What for?”

“Now the race starts to see who manages to get his candidate on the post!” said another political operative in the Parliament.

Panama is the home of the Parlatino, a consultative body covering Latin America, and was therefore considered the “most suitable” location by the bureau, per the note. Part of its function will be “providing support to Parliament’s political bodies visiting the region,” it says.

The Parliament has already opened offices outside the EU in Jakarta, Addis Ababa, and New York. In November, MEPs decided to open a representation office in the Ukrainian parliament, with one Parliament staffer to be seconded to Kyiv.

Spanish MEP Iratxe García praised the move to open a Panama office as “good news,” saying it should be used to promote parliamentary ties between Latin America and the European Union. The leading Socialist and Democrats MEP said: “I always said it was very important for Europe to look to Latin America as a region where we have major opportunities to tighten cooperation.”

Roberts Zīle, a vice president of the Parliament from Latvia, said the decision in favor of opening the office in Panama had been unanimous. In similar offices elsewhere there is only “one person” from the Parliament, meaning the cost should not be significant compared to the EU Parliament’s €2 billion annual budget.

“The European Union needs a lot of rare earth metals … in particular for the Green Deal,” he said, arguing Latin America is an important continent for the EU politically.

Right-wing MEP Roberts Zīle, who intends to run for a fifth Parliament term, said those really wanting to save costs should look at the expensive Europa Experience project, which is trying to build a visitor center concerning the Parliament in every EU capital. “This is a bigger opportunity to save money,” he argued.

A European Parliament spokesperson had not responded to questions about the cost of the office in Panama by the time of publication.