The New Multilateralism in the Age of COVID-19 from the perspective of the European Union - Latin America and the Caribbean relations

The EU-LAC Foundation is pleased to present the publication "The New Multilateralism in the Age of COVID-19 from the perspective of the European Union - Latin America and the Caribbean relations: I Essay Competition on the Bi-regional Partnership".

This publication is the product of a call for papers launched by the Foundation in August 2020, whose objective is directly related to the Foundation's mandate to "contribute to the strengthening of the bi-regional partnership process between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean, through the participation of civil society and other social actors". In this case, the contribution came from young researchers who responded to the call by submitting excellent academic papers that not only increase the visibility of the bi-regional partnership, but also promote mutual knowledge.

The theme selected for the first edition of the competition was framed in the context of the health and economic crisis triggered by COVID-19 and its impact on international relations, specifically in its multilateral dimension.

The competition awarded prizes to the three best essays and an honourable mention to four others. The seven essays collected in this publication were evaluated by a jury formed by the EU-LAC Foundation and independent international experts whom we would like to thank: Dr. Merike Blofield, Director of the Institute for Latin American Studies, German Institute for Global and Regional Studies (GIGA) and Dr. Elsa Llenderozas, Director of the Political Science Department at the University of Buenos Aires.

The approaches of each of the essays offer important analysis and ideas for the current debate on this priority issue on the bi-regional agenda and will hopefully inspire more young people to participate in the upcoming competitions.