Missed Opportunity

Held in Santa Marta, Colombia, the 4th EU-CELAC Summit continues the tradition of summits between heads of state and government from both regions since 1999, establishing the EU-Latin America and Caribbean Strategic Partnership. For many civil society organizations and authors, the aim was to move from a Partnership to a Strategic Alliance after 25 years, considering the new common challenges faced by both Latin America and Europe, especially in light of the policies of current U.S. President Trump. However, the joint declaration following the Summit shows only very partial progress.

The Spanish Federal Council of the European Movement has published three books on these relations, titled "The Future of the Relationship between Europe and Latin America" (edited by Francisco Aldecoa and José Ángel Sotillo, Madrid, Catarata, 2023) and "The Pending Journeys between Latin America and Europe" (also edited by Francisco Aldecoa and José Ángel Sotillo, Madrid, Catarata, 2024). More recently, "The Strategic Alliance of Europe and Latin America in a New Global Scenario. The Bi-regional Academic Integration to Preserve Our Community of Values and Interests" (edited by Francisco Aldecoa and Héctor Casanueva, Madrid, Catarata, 2025). The second and third books feature significant forewords by Josep Borrell.

In this latest edition, we emphasize the need to deepen relations between Europe and Latin America, particularly due to Trump's policies, which oppose both continents in areas such as respect for International Law, Humanitarian Law, and Human Rights, as well as trade policy, which suggests a return to economic protectionism with high tariffs, and finally, the expulsion of millions of migrants from the United States, especially Latin Americans, including some born there.

In the previous two books, we developed the idea that Europe and Latin America increasingly share common interests, values, and a similar worldview. This theme is indeed reflected in point 5 of the joint declaration of the Santa Marta Summit, which states, "we renew the strategic importance of a bi-regional relationship based on shared values and interests, in resilient, inclusive, and democratic societies; in the promotion, protection, and respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms…"

Currently, Trump's policy in his second term clearly opposes these shared values and worldview, which the United States does not share with Europe and Latin America. This vision involves a deepening of human rights, such as the absence of the death penalty, the application of the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court, where the United States is not only not a party but also persecutes its officials, or the Paris Agreement on climate change, which will mark its tenth anniversary and from which Trump has requested withdrawal upon taking office. He has also proposed withdrawing from the WHO, UNESCO, and now even questions the WTO.

Perhaps the most complete antagonism between the United States and the shared position of Europe and Latin America is in trade, where Trump seeks to impose high tariffs on both regions, reaching up to 50% in some cases, such as Brazil, or India, in other latitudes. The European Union maintains an opposing stance, advocating for trade liberalization, particularly directed towards Latin America, and is negotiating worldwide with up to 60 states, especially with Brazil.

I was surprised that the joint EU-CELAC declaration from Santa Marta does not mention the most important issue, which is the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, which has been under negotiation for twelve years and was signed in December 2024 when no one thought it could come into force. This free trade area will be the largest in the world, and we are confident it can extend to the rest of Latin America, as well as in Europe, it will also extend to the European Political Community (47 states, all European except Russia and Belarus).

However, thanks to Trump, European countries that previously objected to facilitating the qualified majority for its approval within the Council, especially France, Poland, Austria, or the Netherlands, among others, have changed their position, and there is now a widespread impression that it will be definitively signed, possibly before the end of the year. For France to accept it, a European financing clause had to be designed for the damages incurred by certain agricultural and livestock sectors as a result of the agreement's implementation.

For Latin America, the issue of migrant expulsions in the United States is of particular importance, which according to Trump's own estimates, could affect more than 10 million people. Currently, deportations are around 1 million. In Europe, there is a perception that a significant migration agreement with Latin America will be necessary, given the need for labor being expelled from the United States, especially in sectors such as industry, health, hospitality, or care… Nevertheless, the joint EU-CELAC declaration, when discussing migration in point 47, is clearly insufficient.

A particularly important issue for us, which we had requested from the Bi-regional Academic Forum to the Summit parties, is the approval of an academic integration treaty between Europe and Latin America, which would be, in some way, an extension of the European Higher Education Area, approved by rectors in Bologna in 1999, and which is yielding significant results, such as the development of the famous Erasmus program of 1987, which initially only contemplated student mobility.

The current circumstances, in which the Trump Administration is creating many problems for visas to study in the United States, even for foreign students with their studies already underway in the country, facilitate and demand that this creation of the Euro-Latin American Higher Education Area can be implemented. However, the aforementioned declaration has missed an opportunity, as it only makes a very vague reference to education and research in point 46. Bi-regional academic integration is necessary for the preservation of our values and interests.

For all these reasons, we understand that the Strategic Partnership between Europe and Latin America, which has been functioning for 25 years with great potential but very limited results so far, currently had the opportunity to make a definitive advance. It is important to remember that the virtue of the Europe-Latin America Alliance is tremendous, as they are the only group of countries in the international society that share these common interests, values, and a similar worldview. Both regions strongly defend multilateralism, as reflected in point 4 of the joint declaration, which actors like Trump are questioning.

For example, in the recent United Nations General Assembly at the end of September 2025, 82% of the chamber supported recognizing Palestine as a state. Of those countries that supported its recognition, nearly half are European or Latin American countries. From my perspective, this common position is what has led President Trump to change, allowing the important peace agreement of September 29 to be proposed, three days after the UN Assembly, upon realizing his lack of support. The signing of this peace agreement takes place on October 13 and, despite its limitations, represents a step towards peace in Gaza. It is important to remember that in his UN speech, Trump advocated for the dissolution of the UN. However, in the second part of the peace plan proposal, he requires the approval of the Security Council.