The third EU-CELAC Summit of Heads of State and Government held on 17-18 July 2023 in Brussels provided an opportunity to generate a strategic dialogue on the challenges and opportunities for cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), which have changed considerably since the last meeting at the highest political level in 2015.
As part of its mission to promote the exchange between governmental authorities and civil societies of the two regions, the EU-LAC Foundation organised different thematic EU-LAC Fora in the run-up to the Summit, aimed at generating inputs to enrich the agenda of discussions of high-level authorities. In this framework, the EU-LAC Foundation advocated taking a fresh look at the interests and needs of both regions (and sub-regions) and engaging in more equitable cooperation mechanisms that affect the daily life of citizens, the economy and politics.
During the II EU-LAC Forum of Journalists, the EU-LAC Think Tank Meeting, the EU-LAC Knowledge Forum, the EU-LAC Gender Equality Forum, the EU-LAC Just Transitions Forum and the Meeting of Intergovernmental Organisations, participants identified and shared recommendations and key actions for the adoption of common lines of initiatives, programmes and public policies that help to articulate the links between both regions. The main takeaways of these civil society and multi-stakeholder fora fall within the strategic thematic areas of the EU-LAC Foundation and provide opportunities to be supported by public and private institutions which implement programmes in both regions. As a result, this document summarises those main takeaways to showcase the potential of the bi-regional EU-CELAC partnership at the global level, with the 2030 Agenda as an umbrella.