The context in which this III CELAC-EU Summit is taking place is complex, due to the civilizational crisis we are living globally. But CELAC arrives in Brussels as a strengthened dialogue partner, with common positions on several issues on the international agenda.
This III Summit between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union is being held on 17 and 18 July in Brussels to resume the functioning – after eight years of pause – of this forum for dialogue between the two regions, whose origin dates back to events that took place more than 30 years ago, when the countries of the then European Community and the Rio Group (which later expanded to form CELAC) met for the first time in Rome in an attempt to establish a space for structured dialogue between the two regions.
The purpose of the meeting in Rome was to establish an exchange between the two regions which, although they have different levels of development, share historical and cultural links.
Then, in 1999, the I EU-LAC Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, the main outcome of which was the will to move forward in the establishment of a mutually beneficial bi-regional strategic partnership. As a result, several summits in the EU-LAC format were held from 2002 to 2010.
Once CELAC was founded in Caracas in 2011, a kind of institutionalised dialogue was established between the two integrationist mechanisms representing both regions.
The first summit in the CELAC-EU format took place in Santiago de Chile in 2013 and the second in Brussels in 2015. In both spaces there was a high-level dialogue between the Heads of State and Government where urgent issues of interest to both regions were addressed. These meetings demonstrated that the relationship between the two regions should be based on respectful exchange and on having each one’s interests and priorities in mind.
However, the third CELAC-EU summit, which should have been held in 2017 in El Salvador, could not take place. The EU was unable to understand some of the political processes taking place in Latin America, refusing to recognise popularly elected governments and leaders in some of its countries.
A period of disconnection between Latin America and the Caribbean on the one hand and Europe on the other began.
From 2022 onwards, a change can again be observed. In October of that year, a meeting of foreign ministers from both regions took place in Buenos Aires, at which the will to re-establish ties between the two sides was expressed. It was also agreed that this summit would be held in Brussels.
All this took place in the midst of a process of strengthening and consolidation of CELAC, with the arrival to power in recent years of several progressive governments and left-wing leaders with a desire for integration.
The context in which the 3rd CELAC-EU Summit is taking place is complex, as a consequence of the civilisational crisis we are living globally. But CELAC arrives in Brussels as a stronger partner in dialogue, with common positions on several issues on the international agenda.
The CELAC that now arrives in Brussels cannot be treated as a minority partner, but as the legitimate and most representative voice of all Latin American and Caribbean nations.
The region’s integrationist mechanism has welcomed this summit with the EU, which is the oldest extra-regional partner, with which it has had important relations in the past.
However, CELAC has said that it aspires for this Summit to be a space in which balanced, supportive and cooperative relations with the European Union can be established. A summit that addresses key issues for our peoples, such as financing for development, food security, renewable energies, investment, trade, science, technology and innovation. Also, post-pandemic recovery and climate change.
CELAC also aspires for this to be a summit where consensus can be reached on various issues, without impositions. It should be a constructive summit, reaffirming that relations between the two regions are based on respect for diversity, international law, the United Nations Charter, and the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.
The aspiration of Latin America and the Caribbean is for this to be a summit in which positions can be brought closer together, in which pronouncements can be transcended and concrete actions can be adopted that benefit the peoples.
For all CELAC members, it is important that the space for dialogue that takes place in Brussels is serious, participatory and pluralistic. That the criteria of CELAC are duly taken into account and that the parallel forums do not become a space for singling out countries of the region or that they create an atmosphere that clouds the results of the Summit. We aspire to a Summit that builds on consensus and that can build bridges.