EU-CELAC Summit: civil society mobilises for an ambitious renewed partnership
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 “EU-LAC Partnership: SOLIDAR contribution towards a partnership focused on just transition” available in Spanish.
* 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.
