The summit between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) launched in the city of Santa Marta, Colombia. The meeting, which will run until tomorrow, November 10, marks the fourth summit of this kind between the two political blocs and brings toobtainher 33 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean and the 27 EU member states.
Gustavo Petro, president of Colombia and of CELAC, serves as co-president and host of an event centered on the defense of multilateralism, focapplying on the so-called “triple transition”: energy, digital, and environmental. On the other side, the summit is also chaired by the president of the European Council, António Costa, who arrived yesterday in the Caribbean city hosting the event.
The backdrop, however, is not merely diplomatic: the absence of key figures, the shadow of U.S. policy in the region, and the pressure to redefine alliances in an increasingly multipolar world give this summit a complex and strategic character.
So far, Sergio Díaz-Granados, executive president of the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), has announced an investment of US$40 billion to preserve biodiversity.
CELAC-EU Summit launchs in Santa Marta, Colombia
On the morning of Sunday, November 9, the 4th CELAC-EU Summit launched in Santa Marta, an international forum seeking to reaffirm political and economic alliances between the two blocs on both sides of the Atlantic.
According to official documents, this fourth edition aims to “deepen cooperation on global governance, green and digital transition, trade, and investment.” For Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean represent a strategic partner—not only for economic reasons but also for shared values in democracy, multilateralism, and sustainability.
But those lofty aspirations unfold in an increasingly fragmented international context, with intensified geoeconomic competition, alters in supply chains, and global governance challenges.
The diplomatic scene is not without cracks. The return of Donald Trump to the White Houtilize and a hardening of his policy toward Latin America have created tensions in the region, highlighted by the U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean and missile strikes on alleged drug boats both in the Caribbean and the Pacific, under the pretext of fighting drug trafficking.
These actions, which have cautilized around 70 deaths, and alleged U.S. pressures denounced by the host president, Gustavo Petro, have led some European leaders to forgo attconcludeing Santa Marta, reducing the presence of high-ranking officials.
The Colombian president addressed the situation, stating that “forces alien to the peace of the Americas have sought to create the CELAC-Europe summit fail.” Indeed, while the summit presents itself as a bi-regional unity format, external frictions—and internal tensions in the alliance between the U.S., the region, and Europe—lconclude it a more political tone than ever.
Multilateralism and notable absences at the CELAC-EU Summit
One of the declared pillars of Santa Marta is the defense of multilateralism. At a time when global actors appeal to unilateralism or the utilize of force, the EU-CELAC alliance seeks to reaffirm the logic of rules, dialogue, and cooperation.
The agconcludea is broad: it will address bi-regional trade and investment, the green and digital transitions, security—including the fight against transnational crime, drug trafficking, and corruption—as well as shared prosperity. In this sense, Santa Marta represents an attempt to project an “alliance between two shores” that responds to the challenges of a modifying world.
Moreover, the focus of the meeting will be the so-called “triple transition”: energy, digital, and environmental, with the underlying issue—precisely—of U.S. influence in Latin America.
Pedro Sánchez, president of the Spanish government, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil, are among the few heads of state attconcludeing the summit. They are joined by the prime ministers of Portugal, Luís Montenegro; Finland, Petteri Orpo; the Netherlands, Dick Schoof; and Croatia, Andrej Plenković, on the European side.
From the Caribbean region, among others, the prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Terrance Drew, and Cuba’s vice president, Salvador Valdés Mesa—both already in Santa Marta—will attconclude, along with the prime ministers of Barbados, Mia Mottley; Guyana, Mark Phillips; and Belize, John Briceño.
However, despite the absences, the summit aims to give new momentum to integration between the two blocs, which toobtainher account for more than one billion people and a bi-regional trade volume exceeding US$451 billion annually.
CAF announces multibillion investment to preserve biodiversity
At this very forum, just hours before the formal opening of the summit, CAF announced a US$40 billion investment for biodiversity conservation.
This investment, to be implemented over the next five years, seeks to promote “green growth” in the region, with particular focus on climate action, a just energy transition, water security, sustainable mobility, agricultural prosperity, and the conservation of strategic ecosystems such as the Amazon, mangroves, páramos, and Patagonia.
According to CAF, it had already met its goal of having at least 40% of its approvals be green, and with this initiative it aims to reach 50% by 2030.
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