What changed between the plenary report and the adopted text

Y. whereas civic space is shrinking in many LAC countries, which are seeing an unprecedented increase in attacks against human rights organisations, activists and defenders, leading to displacement, violence and impunity;

Z. whereas both the EU and LAC countries share a strategic interest in reinforcing their respective strategic autonomy and in diversifying their supply chains; whereas Latin America is a global leader in the production of sustainable energy, with approximately 69 % of its electricity generated from renewable and clean sources, demonstrating the region’s strategic importance and potential in the global green transition;

AA. whereas since the creation of CELAC in 2010, three EU-CELAC summits have been held, in 2013, 2015 and 2023; whereas the EU and CELAC have a long-standing strategic partnership and put in place a network of association and trade agreements; whereas the November 2025 EU-CELAC summit in Colombia will be a key opportunity to reaffirm the EU’s commitment to LAC and demonstrate that Europe is a key, reliable and strategic partner that offers a credible alternative development model rooted in democratic cooperation and shared prosperity, and to show that both regions are firmly committed to bi-regional cooperation and a rules-based international order;

1. Highlights the deep human, historical, cultural and economic, as well as religious, ties between the EU and LAC, which form the foundation of a natural alliance and the basis for developing a strong and enduring European-Latin American transatlantic area of peace, democracy and prosperity;

2. Promotes a policy aimed at encouraging regional cooperation and greater regional integration in LAC; underlines that the new global geopolitical context calls for a qualitative leap in the EU-LAC partnership to further develop a strategic alliance in defence of multilateralism and its founding principles, including dialogue, inclusion, international solidarity and respect for the UN Charter, human rights, humanitarian law and the promotion of sustainable development;

3. Considers that the EU and LAC, as natural strategic partners, have a historic opportunity to strengthen their alliance in the current international context marked by strategic competition; considers that their partnership can represent an important buffer against increasing geopolitical tensions, by building joint policies that foster their strategic autonomy, cooperation and mutual respect;

4. Highlights the fact that the relations between Europe and LAC are also based on deep human connections; recalls that, in an increasingly disconnected world, human capital, which includes shared languages, heritage and cultural ties, is a strategic asset that needs to be preserved;

5. Highlights the EU’s renewed and growing engagement in the region, exemplified by the pivotal EU-CELAC Summit in 2023, which marked a clear turning point after years of limited involvement; underscores the need for a sustained commitment to advancing the EU’s interests and values; notes that the EU’s engagement has dwindled in recent decades, thus creating a vacuum for the growing influence of China, Russia and Iran; deplores the fact that this greater closeness with authoritarian regimes ultimately undermines democracy in the region;

6. Recognises the urgent need to continue to upgrade and develop the EU-LAC relationship in response to the emerging geopolitical shifts, climate change, technological advancements and growing inequalities and security challenges facing both regions, and to increase both regions’ strategic autonomy;

The geopolitical importance of the EU-LAC strategic alliance, strengthened dialogue and cooperation

7. Calls for the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Member States to step up diplomatic efforts in the region to promote increased convergence between the EU and LAC on crucial foreign policy issues, and in particular to adopt a firmer stance on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and on international efforts to achieve a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the flow of humanitarian aid and the unconditional release of all hostages; underlines that, given the current international context, the EU-LAC partnership should be built on a logic of shared strategic autonomy, reduced external dependencies and the defence of the multilateral rules-based order as its guiding principles;

8. Encourages deeper EU-LAC collaboration in international forums to promote and defend the multilateral global order, international law and respect for democracy and human rights, humanitarian law and principles, social justice and sustainable development; stresses, in this regard, that the EU must show its partners in LAC that it can offer better conditions for partnership than authoritarian regimes;

9. Stresses, therefore, the importance of ensuring that EU efforts focus on strengthening democratic institutions, the rule of law and political accountability, and calls for progress on reforms and peacebuilding measures aimed at strengthening security and stability across both regions; recalls that the defence of human rights, democracy, the rule of law and gender equality must be a cross-cutting condition for all EU-LAC agreements and funding, including under the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI-Global Europe); calls for transparency and accountability, particularly in trade and investment frameworks;

10. Is concerned by the democratic backsliding that has taken place in LAC since 2019 and condemns the violations of human rights and restrictions on fundamental freedoms in the region, particularly by regimes in Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela, which are among the world’s most authoritarian; expresses deep concern over the growing trend of authoritarian and populist governance in LAC, and the cumulative erosion of democratic institutions, multilateralism, the rule of law, fundamental rights and freedoms, civic space and essential social protections; stresses the need to strengthen support for democratic actors and civil society, and urges the immediate release of all political prisoners;

12. Strongly condemns and fully rejects the electoral fraud orchestrated by the regime in Venezuela in the 2024 presidential elections, and the sham parliamentary elections held in May 2025; demands that the Maduro government cease its policy of repression and attacks on civil society and the opposition; recalls that on 19 September 2024, Parliament recognised Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate and democratically elected President of Venezuela and María Corina Machado as the leader of the democratic forces in Venezuela; highlights that various democratic states in the region and worldwide have recognised Edmundo González Urrutia as president-elect; expresses satisfaction that on 17 December 2024, Parliament awarded the 2024 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia, who represent all Venezuelans fighting for the restoration of freedom and democracy; commends the Venezuelan people’s commitment to democracy and the democratic opposition’s continued resilience despite increasingly repressive policies by the Maduro regime;

13. Recalls that the Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua passed a constitutional reform in January 2025 eliminating the separation of powers and political pluralism, establishing a co-presidency that controls all branches of government and the media and ignores adherence to international human rights conventions; moreover, stresses that the regime in Nicaragua maintains strong ties with other autocracies, such as those in Iran, Venezuela and Cuba, and strongly condemns it for its systematic human rights abuses, persecution of the democratic opposition, repression of the Catholic Church and civil society, and destruction of the free media and all manifestations of independence from government; urges the Nicaraguan authorities to restore the rule of law, fundamental freedoms and the rights of all Nicaraguans in exile, including the right to safe return without delay; reiterates its demand that the democratic clause of the EU Association Agreement be triggered, rejects any prospect of dialogue with members of Nicaragua’s regime-controlled National Assembly, and calls for increased sanctions against Ortega, Rosario Murillo and their inner circle; calls for the immediate lifting of the ban on international human rights monitoring mechanisms and for restoration of the legal status of over 3 000 NGOs, which was revoked in 2018 by the Nicaraguan government;

14. Expresses deep concern over the erosion of democratic principles and the deliberate circumvention of constitutional safeguards in other LAC countries, most notably in El Salvador; voices alarm over the lack of independence of the judiciary and lack of transparency in government actions, the excessive use of force, undue militarisation, and the growing restrictions on the freedoms of assembly and the press; is gravely concerned by reports of widespread detentions without due cause, torture, forced disappearances of civilians, and the alarming overcrowding in prisons; condemns the authorities for failing to hold security forces accountable for their actions and for their persistent rejection of international requests for oversight and investigation;

15. Firmly condemns the Russian Federation’s use of hybrid tactics, encompassing military, cyber, information and economic operations, particularly in the energy sector, including the evasion of sanctions, non-transparent practices and corruption, as tools for expansion, which undermines regional security, promotes internal destabilisation and leads to the formation of a bloc that poses a threat to democracy, peace and international law; is deeply concerned about the strategic partnership between Venezuela and the Russian Federation, which poses risks to regional and international security; calls for the EU to step up its fight against Russian propaganda in the region; recalls the need for the EU to ensure that EU delegations have the necessary means to counter disinformation;

16. Notes that, since 2005, China has granted loans totalling more than USD 120 billion to the LAC region, with the aim of increasing its geopolitical influence and making LAC countries dependent upon Chinese financing by providing investment capital in exchange for the supply of crude oil, or by funding energy and infrastructure projects; regrets that these energy and infrastructure projects often result in lower environmental and labour standards being applied; recalls that, unlike other global powers, the EU does not seek an extractive or unbalanced relationship, but rather partnerships based on reciprocity, sustainability and the generation of added value; highlights that it is precisely this model of cooperation, prioritising respect for sovereignty, transparency and the rule of law, that makes the EU a preferred partner for the region;

17. Supports the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of all LAC countries and rejects global powers’ ambitions to impose relations of political and economic dependence; emphasises that respect for states’ territorial integrity is a fundamental principle of international law, the UN Charter and the rules-based international order;

Economic cooperation for sustainable growth

18. Welcomes the strong economic and trade partnership between the EU and LAC, which is based on a shared interest in promoting sustainable growth and human development, strengthening economic resilience and reducing excessive dependencies through diversified trade relations;

19. Highlights the EU’s ambition to lead the global green transition and its recognition of Latin America as a key partner in this effort; supports LAC in combating illegal deforestation and devising reforestation projects;

20. Stresses the need to address growing inequalities, promote peace and strengthen democratic processes and institutions in both regions, and highlights the importance of economic cooperation that promotes gender equality and women’s economic empowerment; expresses concern about backsliding on women’s rights, particularly with regard to their sexual and reproductive health; calls for closing the gender pay gap and supports actions to enhance female representation in political leadership and legislatures, and emphasises the need to align EU-LAC economic relations with the UN 2030 Agenda and ensure stronger coherence between economic and social-environmental objectives;

21. Highlights the fact that the EU is the largest investor in the LAC region and the third-largest trading partner; notes that LAC is the EU’s fifth-largest trading partner; underlines that this strong economic cooperation should not only serve the interests of large financial entities, but also ensure that all benefit, especially SMEs, workers, vulnerable people, and populations from rural and remote areas;

22. Underlines that both the Letta Report on the future of the single market and the Draghi Report on the future of European competitiveness emphasise the need to intensify efforts to secure the EU’s supply of critical raw materials and stresses the potential of LAC to be a key partner in diversifying supply chains; welcomes the signing of memorandums of understanding with partners on critical raw materials and highlights that these are crucial to achieving more diversification in the EU’s supply chains; believes that these agreements, together with deepening economic and political cooperation through bilateral agreements, should lead to increased investment in this sector that will benefit both regions;

23. Calls for greater regulation and transparency in key economic areas, such as the mining sector, where weak regulation can lead to conflicts and exploitation; calls on all partners to strengthen labour rights and promote cooperatives and other initiatives that foster worker participation and empowerment in the economy; highlights the importance of ensuring that the extraction, trade in and processing of critical raw materials adhere to high standards of environmental protection, social responsibility and human rights, and supports the development of alternative, resilient, sustainable and transparent value chains that contribute to the prosperity of all the societies involved;

24. Calls on the Commission to intensify the dialogue with the LAC countries on the implications of EU legislation for their local economies;

Strategic partnerships and international agreements

25. Acknowledges the dense network of agreements between the two regions and stresses the fundamental geopolitical importance of enacting new and more ambitious agreements and partnerships that are inclusive, sustainable and mutually beneficial, grounded in shared values and firmly rooted in respect for human rights; emphasises the role of those agreements in contributing to further economic integration to achieve an area of shared prosperity and increased economic security; emphasises the importance of bi-regional trade between the EU and LAC in diversifying food systems and strengthening food security;

26. Recalls the special role that Mexico and Brazil play in bi-regional relations, bearing the status of strategic partners of the EU; strongly encourages both parties to make better use of the potential of these strategic partnerships; highlights the need to fulfil the commitment to hold bilateral summits with both countries every two years;

27. Welcomes the full ratification of the EU-Central America Association Agreement, and the entry into force of its three pillars of political dialogue, cooperation and trade in May 2024; calls for the adoption of robust and inclusive mechanisms for civil society participation in the implementation and monitoring of the EU-Central America Association Agreement, upholding democratic principles, transparency and social cohesion; calls for the EU and the Central American countries to pursue active policies and ensure appropriate funding to optimise the agreement’s positive impact on SDGs in both regions;

28. Welcomes the signing of the EU-Chile Advanced Framework Agreement and calls for its swift and full ratification; welcomes, too, the conclusion of negotiations on the EU-Mexico Global Agreement, which will reinforce political cooperation, open new trade opportunities and strengthen ties in strategic sectors such as digitalisation, innovation, and security, and calls for its swift signing and ratification; recognises Mexico’s pivotal role in LAC and its ambition to diversify trade and political partnerships; underlines that the EU-Mexico agreement will reinforce the EU’s role as a strategic partner in the region and its capacity to respond to global challenges;

29. Underlines the importance of meeting the targets set by the Paris Climate Agreement and welcomes the inclusion of a binding clause in the EU-Mercosur Agreement on upholding its commitments; underscores that the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement will provide an opportunity to significantly strengthen EU-Mercosur bi-regional cooperation on addressing common challenges, while serving to counteract the growing influence of authoritarian actors in the region and to help the EU diversify its supply of critical raw materials;

Multilateral cooperation

30. Recalls that the Euro-Latin American alliance represents a bridge designed not only to prevent a dangerous drift toward closed and ideologically polarised blocs, but above all to open a space for international dialogue that reduces tensions and fosters shared solutions;

31. Stresses the significant contribution of LAC countries to multilateral organisations and their active role in addressing global challenges, such as climate change, peace and security, including the promotion of the Women, Peace and Security agenda, and sustainable development; highlights the commitment of both regions to defending the UN Charter, human rights, representative democracy and strong multilateral governance; urges both regions to continue defending multilateralism, in particular the UN system, and to jointly lead a reform of global governance institutions, including international financial institutions, to achieve a more inclusive and representative multilateralism;

32. Calls for progress on the conclusion of visa liberalisation agreements with the countries with which discussions are most advanced;

EU-LAC development cooperation, humanitarian aid and sustainable investments through the Global Gateway initiative

33. Recalls that the primary objective of EU development cooperation policy is the reduction and, in the long term, eradication of poverty; stresses that eradicating poverty, particularly among the most vulnerable groups – such as women, girls and persons with disabilities, among others – is essential to addressing growing inequalities that undermine social cohesion and limit economic potential; recalls that the debt burden faced by LAC countries generates severe economic and social costs, with long-lasting effects on poverty and inequality; supports debt restructuring; stresses that the SDGs and the Paris Agreement must remain central to cooperation between LAC and the EU; recalls that access to development aid and finance is particularly crucial for fragile countries, including those more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, in particular Caribbean Small Island Developing States, and for countries transitioning to a higher level of income;

34. Highlights the fact that the EU is the leading contributor to development cooperation in LAC; reiterates the importance of strengthening the EU’s development policies and humanitarian aid in LAC, and calls for the EU and its Member States to strengthen the Union’s other external priorities, including those regarding security, sustainable development and trade, migration, fisheries, agriculture, climate change and energy; calls for the establishment of effective synergies with EU humanitarian assistance, with full respect for the principle of co-ownership, taking account of the LAC region’s development priorities; calls for regular bilateral dialogues and, where relevant, for consultations with local governments and civil society representatives of both regions, including on support for the sustainable development objectives in the EU-LAC association agreements, in particular as a response to the global decline in official development assistance (ODA) and humanitarian aid;

35. Is concerned by the global cuts in funding for development and humanitarian aid, in particular the reduction in ODA and the suspension of the majority of the programmes of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) (up to 83 %), and by the global aid cuts made by several EU Member States, as this funding has been instrumental in supporting the significant social, economic and political transformations in the region; reiterates that these cuts will have long-term implications for the development agenda and the achievement of the SDGs in the LAC region; expresses serious concern about the impact of the recent cuts on the effective participation of civil society and NGOs and their capacity to carry out their activities to promote human rights, democracy and social development in the region, and fight authoritarian regimes; calls, therefore, on the Commission and the Member States to provide adequate development and humanitarian assistance to the LAC region;

36. Stresses that traditional forms of ODA have proven to be essential and effective in reducing poverty, addressing growing inequalities, improving health and education outcomes and fostering social cohesion in the LAC region, in particular as regards the inclusion of under-represented and marginalised groups, such as girls, women, young people, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and people of African descent;

37. Calls for full civil society participation in the design, implementation and monitoring of EU programmes to ensure policy coherence for sustainable development;

38. Highlights the strategic potential of triangular cooperation between the EU, the countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and LAC partners to enhance the impact of development, mutual learning and policy innovation; stresses that such partnerships, when aligned with local priorities and focused on capacity building, can foster inclusive solutions to global challenges; calls for the EU to scale up support for triangular cooperation initiatives within the NDICI-Global Europe framework and to systematically integrate them into the EU-LAC strategic agenda;

39. Calls for the EU and its Member States to leverage major initiatives such as the Global Gateway to increase investment in LAC, ensuring that the EU remains a strong and competitive partner for LAC countries, given the growing Chinese and Russian presence in the region, as clearly shown by China’s commitments during the China-CELAC forum held on 13 May 2025; stresses that increasing EU investment in Latin America is all the more important because of the intensification of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Latin America, with Colombia signing up to the BRI at the China-CELAC forum of 13 May 2025; calls on the Commission to deliver on the projects and strategies planned under the Global Gateway framework, in order to, among other objectives, build sustainable and high-quality infrastructure that effectively creates local value, strengthens bi-regional value chains and enhances economic security for both regions; insists that the Global Gateway should always adhere to fundamental EU values, including respect for human rights, good governance, democracy and transparency, and environmental sustainability in line with the EU’s development effectiveness principles; urges the EU and its Member States to ensure that investments made under the Global Gateway framework include stringent due diligence processes;

40. Calls for the effective implementation of the EU-LAC Global Gateway Investment Agenda by fostering partnerships between the public and private sectors, with a view to supporting sustainable development, inclusive growth and employment, as well as a just green and digital transformation; calls on the Commission to ensure, from inception to delivery, that these investments are aligned with the objectives of the SDGs and the sustainable development priorities identified by LAC partners, including through regular consultations with local authorities and civil society representatives and through impact assessments and evaluations, and that they are responsive to local and regional needs, are gender-sensitive and generate meaningful development outcomes;

41. Stresses the importance of creating the right conditions for mobilising both public and private investment to support sustainable development; stresses, in this regard, the need to address the USD 99 billion annual financing gap in the region for SDG-aligned infrastructure and climate projects to drive the just green and digital transition; highlights the key role of the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+) in mobilising investments to achieve these goals, and the role played by the European Investment Bank (EIB), in particular EIB Global, within the EFSD+ framework, in addressing the persistent lack of long-term financing and technical expertise for green investments in the region, as shown by the 2024 survey by the EIB and the Latin American Association of Development Financing Institutions; supports deeper cooperation with local financial institutions and regional development banks, and calls for increased use of EFSD+ guarantees to support small-scale, high-impact projects involving civil society and local communities, in line with the Global Gateway and the EU’s development effectiveness principles;

42. Underlines that cooperation between the EU and LAC on both critical raw materials and technology is essential to achieving fair, green and digital transformations and to strengthening strategic autonomy in both regions based on mutually beneficial partnerships; underlines that such cooperation helps to overcome LAC economies’ dependence on primary commodities (agricultural products and natural resources) and plays an important role in strengthening value chains through sustainable reindustrialisation policies that create decent jobs, promote environmental sustainability and foster an environment conducive to technological innovation; recommends enhanced cooperation on digital education and research between EU and LAC universities and innovation hubs;

43. Stresses the need for Global Gateway investments in the LAC region to prioritise closing infrastructure and inequality gaps, including digital and energy poverty, particularly in rural and peripheral areas, to ensure that the benefits of enhanced connectivity reach underserved populations; emphasises that this includes young people and the informal sector, and that affordable access to the internet and enhanced digital literacy should be ensured across all segments of the population, particularly in marginalised communities, with a view to actively bridging the digital divide;

44. Stresses that young people, who are essential agents of structural change, continue to face major barriers in accessing decent employment, and underlines that Global Gateway priorities must support investments in education, vocational training and employment policies that are aligned with the needs of the future labour market;

45. Recalls, furthermore, the importance of prioritising programmes already identified by international and civil society organisations as effective, such as investment in health and care systems; calls, particularly in light of the region’s vulnerability, for the effective inclusion of persons with disabilities to ensure an inclusive, accessible and effective approach to health and care;

46. Recalls that trade and association agreements allow both regions to exchange and invest in a broad range of different sectors, and highlights the fact that reducing inequalities, promoting access to health, education and water, and upholding human dignity and fundamental rights must remain central to the EU-LAC partnership, in line with TFEU Article 208 and NDICI-Global Europe;

47. Stresses the importance of enhanced transparency, accountability and local relevance, and welcomes the creation of a Commission webpage with information on existing Global Gateway initiatives; calls on the Commission to publish further details, including the results of consultations with local authorities and civil society from both regions, as well as information on compliance with the SDGs and the priorities of both the EU and the partner countries, with benchmarks and indicators; urges the broadest application of the Commission’s inequality marker (I-Marker), in particular with regard to the Global Gateway, which should at all times comply with a rights-based approach and be linked to human development indicators; highlights, in addition, the importance of social and environmental protection in the EU-CELAC dialogue;

48. Emphasises that there must be a continuous evaluation of the Global Gateway to assess its effectiveness and strategic direction; calls, in this regard, for a stronger role for Parliament in the oversight of the Global Gateway initiative and in steering it strategically, particularly with regard to its implementation in LAC, in order to ensure transparency, democratic accountability, alignment with EU values and the effective use of resources;

49. Calls on the Commission to ensure the full participation of civil society in the design, implementation and monitoring of EU programmes to ensure policy coherence for sustainable development, establishing effective synergies with all projects related to the Global Gateway and EU humanitarian assistance;

50. Stresses that, alongside the Global Gateway initiative, traditional cooperation channels in LAC countries must be preserved; calls on the EU to increase funding for human rights, democracy and civil society programmes in the region, and to ensure that allocations to the Americas and Caribbean geographical programme under NDICI Global Europe – currently the lowest among all regions – are at least maintained;

51. Urges the Commission and the LAC countries to increase efforts to address the underlying causes of human and natural disasters, by strengthening prevention, preparedness, resilience and response policies and cooperation; welcomes the bi-regional memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the area of integrated disaster risk management, signed in Barbados on 15 May 2024, and invites partners who have not yet signed it to do so as soon as possible;