EU-Latin America: parliamentary dialogue in the face of global instability
Next week, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, EU and Latin American parliamentarians will assess the bilateral relationship and future challenges, in a context of growing instability.
On Wednesday and Thursday (28-29 October), the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat) will hold its 17th plenary session, twenty years after its creation as a forum for parliamentary dialogue. Around 40 MEPs will attend the plenary, hosted by the Parliament of the Canary Islands.
The protection of multilateralism and Euro-Latin American cooperation, and the promotion of free trade, in the face of some threats of withdrawal, are some of the topics on the agenda. The parliamentarians will be joined for the discussions by academics, and representatives of international and non-governmental organisations and Canary Islands local and regional authorities. They will also discuss the protection of biodiversity and dependence on strategic raw materials, and the expansion of artificial intelligence and its impact on labour and social rights. The online protection of minors, disinformation, the fight against organised crime, violence against women, and inter-regional solidarity in emergencies will also be up for debate.
Opening session, press statements, committee meetings
In the opening session, on Wednesday, the president of the government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo Battle, and the speaker of the regional parliament, Astrid Pérez, as well as the two co-presidents of EuroLat, Spanish MEP Gabriel Mato (EPP) and Uruguayan senator Daniel Caggiani, will speak. European Parliament president Roberta Metsola and the secretary general of the Ibero-American General Secretariat Andrés Allamand will contribute with video messages.
Following the opening of the plenary session, EuroLat co-presidents Gabriel Mato and Daniel Caggiani will make statements to the media on Wednesday at 11.30, at the seat of the Parliament of the Canary Islands.
The EuroLat standing committees on Political Affairs; Security and Human Rights; Economic, Financial and Commercial Affairs; Sustainable Development, Environment, Energy Policy, Research, Innovation and Technology; and Social Affairs, Youth and Children, Human Exchanges, Education and Culture will hold meetings on Tuesday 27 October. On Wednesday afternoon, the Euro-Latin American Women’s Forum, and the Working Group on Security and Civil Society will also meet.
Twenty years of EuroLat
EuroLat celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2026. Following a decision by the leaders of the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean, the parliamentary assembly was formally constituted in November 2006 to provide the bi-regional strategic partnership with a permanent parliamentary dimension. EuroLat meets in plenary once a year. The last session took place in Lima, Peru, in June 2025.
On Thursday (29 October), the 20th anniversary will be marked in a ceremony with several former EuroLat co-chairs attending. On the EU side, José Ignacio Salafranca, who presided over the Assembly from its creation until 2014, Ramón Jáuregui (2014-2019), and Javi López (2019-2024), will be present. On the Latin American side, Brazilian Roberto Requião (2015-2017), Panamanian Elías Castillo (2018-2019) and Colombian Óscar Darío Pérez (2021-2023) will participate.
More about EuroLat
The Assembly has 150 members, half MEPs and the other half from Latin American regional parliaments, including Parlatino (the Latin American Parliament), Parlandino (the Andean Parliament), Parlacen (the Central American Parliament), Parlasur (the Mercosur Parliament) and the Congresses of Chile and Mexico.