The European Union Reaffirms Strategic Association with Latin America and the Caribbean

The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini, reaffirmed today in Mexico the cooperation ties between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, and called for building a strategic association between both parties based on a new governance model with equality and growth.

The European official participated as a special guest in ECLAC’s thirty-sixth session, which is being held in Mexico City, and spoke before an audience made up of authorities and representatives of member nations of this United Nations regional commission.

“Relations between the European Union (EU) and Latin America are stronger than ever,” Mogherini said, calling for cooperation between both sides to achieve greater social justice and equality of rights for all, along with greater economic efficiency. “When inequality grows, we all end up losing,” she added.

In her speech, the diplomat reviewed recent cooperation initiatives promoted by the EU in the region, which include the negotiation of agreements with Mexico and Mercosur, as well as support for the end of the armed conflict in Colombia and the restoration of relations between Cuba and the United States, with regard to which the EU has expressed its firm intention of encouraging the end of the economic embargo that affects the island.

Mogherini thanked ECLAC and its Executive Secretary, Alicia Bárcena, for helping understand the profound trends that cut across the Latin American and Caribbean region. “I completely agree with what is put forth in the document Horizons 2030: Equality at the Centre of Sustainable Development, which ECLAC has presented during this session, especially when it calls for new international coalitions for a fairer and more equitable global order,” she said.

“We need a more representative global governance that truly listens to all the people, all cultures and all regions. We need an alliance of alliances, a network of international organizations that cooperate for a better world. And our two regions should be at the heart of this alliance,” Mogherini declared.

Alicia Bárcena expressed special thanks for the presence of the senior European representative at ECLAC’s meeting in Mexico and reaffirmed the organization’s full commitment to achieving a new era of political dialogue and regional integration, and with Europe. “The European Commission and ECLAC are major strategic partners,” she emphasized.

In addition, Bárcena expressed concern about the classification of some of the region’s countries as middle-income nations, which could deprive them of important trade opportunities. “We should think together, the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean, about how to accommodate all the middle-income countries so they are not harmed,” she said.

“We are proposing new global coalitions and the first step is between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean. If we unite, we can form a big coalition looking towards the future to expand the economy, to achieve the equality and environmental sustainability that we strive for so much,” ECLAC’s Executive Secretary concluded.

The complete program of ECLAC’s thirty-sixth session, as well as general information on the meeting, is available on the gathering’s special Web site: ://periododesesiones.cepal.org/36/en.

You can follow all the details of the meeting on social media using the hashtags #Horizontes2030 and #Horizons2030.

More information:

• Web site. Thirty-sixth session of ECLAC.
• Complete document. Horizons 2030: Equality at the Centre of Sustainable Development.

For questions related to press coverage, contact:
 

María Luisa Díaz de León, Public Information Official, ECLAC’s Subregional Headquarters in Mexico. E-mail: marialuisa.diaz@cepal.org; Telephone: (52 55) 41705665. Cell Phone: (5255) 5416 9297.

Félix Ibáñez, Officer-in-Charge of ECLAC’s Public Information Unit. E-mail: prensa@cepal.org; Telephone: (56) 22210 2040. Cell Phone: (569) 7 967 8306.

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