António Costa: EU and Latin America should strengthen relationship

O president of the European Council, António Costa, today defended the strengthening of the relationship between the European Union and Latin America, considering it a “strategic necessity”, and thanked Portugal and Spain for their efforts in this direction.

“ In the current context, strengthening the relationship between the European Union and Latin America is not an option, but a strategic need. In this effort, Spain and Portugal play a key role, supporting and deepening our biregional association. On behalf of the other 25 Member States, I would like to thank the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic,” said António Costa.

António Costa spoke before the 30th Ibero-American Summit, which ends today in Madrid, challenging the Heads of State and Government of this community to contribute to the success of the summit between the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which will take place in Brussels in 2027.

Portugal is represented at the Ibero-American Summit by the President of the Republic, António José Seguro, and by the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro.

The President of the European Council and former Portuguese Prime Minister reported on the first Ibero-American Summit, which took place in 1991 in Guadalajara, Mexico, to refer to the changes that took place in the world, which, he highlighted, then lived a “moment of hope”, with the end of the Cold War and the increase of multilateralism.

“Thirty-five years later, the world changed deeply. The rivalry between powers is intensifying, conflicts are multiplying and protectionism is resurfacing”, pointed out, in this context, the need to deepen the relationship between the European Union and Latin America.

The President of the European Council also argued that the strengthening of the United Nations is a “shared priority”, and said the European Union follows “with great interest the contribution of Latin America” in the election of the next Secretary-General of the United Nations.

“ Although the Ibero-American process and the birregional relationship between the European Union and CELAC have their own dynamics, we must see ourselves as parts of the same strategic space,” he said.

For António Costa, the important thing is that “both spaces move in the same direction”, highlighting cooperation on security.

“ The fight against organised crime is a shared and essential priority for us,” said Costa, after several representatives at the summit stressed the need for coordination in the fight against drug trafficking.

The President of the European Council stressed that the European Union is the first foreign investor in the region, including the Caribbean, with more than EUR 800 million of direct investment.

“ This is a real window of opportunity. It is time to turn our proximity into an authentic strategic fortress”, he said.

António Costa began his speech with a demonstration of solidarity with the victims of the railway accident last week in Spain, in which 69 people died, including a Portuguese citizen.

The Ibero-American summits take place every two years and Portugal proposed to host the 2030s, which will follow the 2028s in Honduras.

The community consists of three European countries (Portugal, Spain and Andorra) and 19 Latin Americans (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Cuba and the Dominican Republic).