Latin America and the Caribbean

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The EESC has been working with Latin American and Caribbean counterpart organisations since the 1990s. Several EESC's opinions have focused on relations with this region, at regional, sub-regional and national level. The EESC's priorities include the development of civil society organisations, economic and social development, regional integration and cooperation in the multilateral sphere.

At a regional level, the EESC organises biennial meetings between civil society organisation representatives in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, as one of the preparatory events prior to the EU-CELAC Summit.

At sub-regional and national level, several permanent structures have been set up: In 2009, the EESC set up a civil society Round Table with the Brazilian Economic and Social Council to provide a forum for dialogue and continuous cooperation between representatives of Brazilian and European civil society. The EU-Chile Association Agreement gave the Committee a mandate to establish a Joint Consultative Committee with its Chilean civil society counterpart in order to monitor the agreement, which was finally set up in 2016. As regards the Andean Community countries, the EESC takes part in the Domestic Advisory Group monitoring the EU-Colombia/Peru/Ecuador free trade agreement. It also participates in the CARIFORUM-EU Consultative Committee that monitors the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement. Permanent relations have been established with the EESC's institutional counterparts in Mercosur (the Economic and Social Consultative Forum) and Central America (the Consultative Committee of the Central American Integration System).

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Hearing on the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement: The views of organized civil society

Event
Meeting
Rue Belliard 99
Brussels
Belgium

The Latin America Follow up Committee of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held a Hearing on the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement: The views of organized civil society on 13 of November 2019.

The main purpose of the debate was to:

  • Assess the opportunities and challenges ahead of the implementation of the Agreement;
  • Evaluate compromises and possible impacts of the Trade and Sustainable Development Chapter of the Agreement;
  • Explore how the civil society and consultative structures should monitor the impact of the Association Agreement in terms of improving human rights and labour, social and environmental rights as well as a strict compliance with international conventions or agreements the parties have committed to.
13/11/2019

5th joint meeting of the EU Domestic Advisory Group and representatives from the domestic mechanisms of Colombia, Peru and Ecuador and Civil Society Open Session

Event
Joint meeting
Bogota
Colombia

During the meeting, the EU Domestic Advisory Group (EU DAG) and civil society representatives from the Colombia DAG, Peru Domestic Mechanism and Ecuador DAG discussed the implementation of the Trade and Sustainable Development Title of the Trade Agreement, with a particular focus on respect for international labour and environmental standards. They also discussed economic, social, environmental and human rights impacts resulting from the implementation of the Agreement. The participants reflected on how the civil society from the EU, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador can cooperate to promote sustainable development in the context of trade relations and prepare for the next joint meeting.

21/10/2019 23/10/2019

5th EU-Central America joint meeting of civil society Advisory Groups and Civil Society Dialogue Forum

Event
Joint meeting
Guatemala
Antigua Guatemala
Guatemala

This year's meetings between the EU and Central America under the Trade and Sustainable Development Title of the Association Agreement included a joint meeting of the DAGs where the representatives of the EU and Central American Advisory Groups exchanged experience in their current operation and discussed proposals for capacity strengthening of the civil society monitoring mechanism, the role of the parties in this context and future cooperation. The joint meeting of the DAGs was followed by a workshop on Trade and Sustainable Development where the participants discussed the content of the chapter and looked for a common understanding of the chapter.

24/06/2019 26/06/2019

4th joint meeting of the EU Domestic Advisory Group and representatives from the domestic mechanisms of Colombia, Peru and Ecuador and Civil Society Open Session

Event
Quito
Ecuador

During the meeting, the EU Domestic Advisory Group (EU DAG) and civil society representatives from Colombia, Peru and Ecuador discussed implementation of the Trade and Sustainable Development Title of the Trade Agreement, with a particular focus on respect for international labour and environmental standards. They also discussed economic, social, environmental and human rights impacts resulting from the implementation of the Agreement. The participants reflected moreover on how the civil society from the EU, Colombia,  Peru and Ecuador can cooperate to promote sustainable development in the context of trade relations and prepare for the next joint meeting. The participants adopted a joint declaration summarising outcomes of their discussion and presented it to the Parties during the Open Session with civil society on 12 December.

10/12/2018 12/12/2018

3rd meeting of the EU-Chile Joint Consultative Committee

Event
Santiago de Chile
Chile

On 6 and 7 December 2018, the third meeting of the EU-Chile Civil Society Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), established by the EU-Chile Association Agreement was held in Santiago de Chile. The members discussed topics of interest for both parties, such as investment and cooperation, decent work and informal economy, the Sustainable Development Agenda and proposals to reinforce the role of the Joint Consultative Committee.  They adopted a Final Declaration on these four topics.

The JCC is made up of eighteen members, nine from the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and nine from Chilean civil society organisations. It is co-chaired by Josep Puxeu Rocamora, EESC member, and Roberto Zúñiga Belauzarán, Director, National Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (CONAPYME).

06/12/2018 07/12/2018

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