EU-CELAC Summit: civil society mobilises for an ambitious renewed partnership

Ahead of the EU-CELAC Summit that will take place on 17-18 July in Brussels, European civil society organisations call for prioritising a triple just transition in the renewed bi-regional strategy and the establishment of a multistakeholder mechanism to monitor and follow-up the Summit’s agreements. Read our full asks in the article here.

After a relative silence on the bi-regional agenda, the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (CELAC) will renew their strategic partnership with the holding of the 3rd EU-CELAC Summit (17-18 July 2023 in Brussels).

Ahead of the Summit, CSOs have mobilised to call for a bi-regional partnership that promotes sustainable development and human rights, especially in the current context of global transformation, overlapping crises and progressive post-pandemic recovery. The Joint Position Paper ‘Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union: towards a renewed and real political partnership. Proposals from civil society to strengthen the bi-regional relationship’ has been published on 11 July 2023, under the coordination of the EU-LAC Civil Society Working Group* and with the support from a wide range of European and Latin American civil society organisations. SOLIDAR, which is an active member of the EU-LAC WG, co-drafted the Position Paper and signed together with many of its members that have endorsed it.

The Position Paper, that will be presented during the EU-Latin America and the Caribbean Forum: Partners in Change (13-14 July, Brussels), calls for prioritising a triple just transition that puts care societies, accountability, the fight for tax justice and the social impact of investments made through the Global Gateway at the centre and to

Concretely promote an open civic space for vibrant democracy;
Put the fight against inequalities at the core of EU-LAC agenda;
Promote a just green transition for both regions; and
Revise the EU model towards fair and sustainable trade and investment agreements.

Moreover, the Joint Statement calls for the establishment of an official multi-stakeholder monitoring mechanism to ensure long-term engagement and commitment with civil society in the renewed EU-CELAC partnership.

This demand has already been addressed earlier this month in a Joint Letter to high representatives of the European Union by the EU-LAC Working Group, the European Trade Union Confederation and Local Governments and their associations.

SOLIDAR will continue to work with the EU-LAC Working Group for fair relations between the two regions and for a renewed EU-LAC partnership focusing on the promotion of a just transition as stated in SOLIDAR’s Narrative “Las relaciones entre la Unión Europea y América Latina: la contribución de la Red SOLIDAR a un partenariado con enfoque en una transición justa”.

* The EU-LAC Working Group is an informal platform of European organisations and networks created in 2014. Its common objective is to work on EU-LAC topics. SOLIDAR is an active member of the Group together with some of its members.

List of organizations and networks: Caritas Europa; Pax Christi International; WSM; OIDHACO; WIDE+; People in Need - PIN; Red EULAT; Oxfam; ActionAid; RIDHE; Solsoc; CIDSE; Brot für die Welt; COSPE; Coordinadora ONGD España; Gret; WWF; Fundación Avina; SOLIDAR; Wetlands International; Alliance 2015; World Organisation against Torture - OMCT; ITUC; Plataforma Europa - Peru; Fundación Ebert Stiftung; ETUC; Human Rights Watch; Civil Rights Defenders; 11 11 11; FIDH; CSW; Amnesty Europe; AIDSFONDS; Justice et Paix; CONCORD; CNCD 11 11 11; Race and Equality; Heinrich Böll Foundation; IFSI-ISVI.

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Read more about SOLIDAR work on EU-LAC relations and ongoing processes in SOLIDAR website: