From 7th to 8th of September an EU-LAC Foundation delegation took part in a series of meetings held in Brussels with representatives of European External Action Service (EEAS) and the Directorate for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) to discuss work proposals of the Foundation for the year 2023. Another meeting was held at the Embassy of Argentina with the representative of PPT of CELAC with a view to a potential Summit of Heads of State and Government of the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean to be held in the second semester 2023 during the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council.
The meetings were an excellent opportunity for the EU-LAC Foundation to discuss with its partners the events the Foundation is organising for the next months such as the EU-LAC Youth Days in Prague and the International Seminar: 'The EU-LAC Strategic Association and the instruments of political and sectoral cooperation, trade, investment and sustainable development' in Buenos Aires. Nevertheless, the most important topic addressed during the meetings focused on the initiatives to be put in place in view of a possible EU-CELAC Summit of Heads and State and Government in the upcoming year.
During the meeting with the Ambassador of Argentina in Brussels, Pablo Grinspun, the Executive Director of the EU-LAC Foundation, Dr Adrián Bonilla and the Senior Programme Managers Dr Anna Barrera and Ernesto Jeger presented the proposal to organise several thematic/sectoral Fora with civil society to generate proposals for the bi-regional Strategic agenda, as well as a multi-stakeholder Forum in which representatives from civil society, international organisations and political decision-makers would enter in dialogue on the main themes to be addressed by a prospective EU-CELAC Summit.
The meeting with EEAS and DG INTPA was also virtually attended by the EU-LAC Foundation’s President Leire Pajín, who opened the meeting by outlining the proposal of the activities to be organised in 2023 to accompany the potential EU-CELAC Summit. Dr Anna Barrera Vivero, EU-LAC Foundation Senior Programme Manager, also mentioned the importance of developing fresh elements for a common narrative of the bi-regional relationship for which a more intensive work with journalists and the media as well as Think Tanks from both regions are considered as vital.
Finally, and taking as an example the last steps to conclude the ratification the Constitutive Agreement of EU-LAC Foundation by Argentina, the meetings were a valuable occasion to reiterating the importance of ratifying the Constitutive Agreement of EU-LAC Foundation among those member states of the Foundation who have not yet ratified the document.
