European Economic
and Social Committee
Latin America and the Caribbean
The EESC has engaged with Latin American and Caribbean counterpart organisations since the 1990s. Over the years, several EESC opinions have addressed relations with this region at regional, sub-regional and national levels. Its priorities include strengthening civil society organisations, promoting economic and social development, fostering regional integration and advancing cooperation in the multilateral sphere.
At the bi-regional level, the EESC organizes and contributes to meetings between civil society representatives from Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean, including dialogue forums ahead of EU-CELAC Summits.
At sub-regional and national levels, the EESC has established several permanent structures. In 2009, it created a Civil Society Round Table with the Brazilian Economic and Social Development Council to provide a platform for dialogue and ongoing cooperation between Brazilian and European civil society. The EU-Brazil Civil Society Round Table was relaunched in 2025 with a new counterpart, Brazil's Sustainable Economic and Social Development Council (CDESS). Under the EU-Chile Association Agreement, the EESC was mandated to set up a Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) with Chilean civil society to monitor the agreement. The JCC was established in 2016, and its mandate expired in 2025 following the Advanced Framework Agreement and the provisional application of the Interim Trade Agreement, which introduced Domestic Consultative Groups (DCGs). The EU DCG was formed in early 2026.
For Central America and the Andean Community countries, the EESC participates in two Domestic Advisory Groups monitoring the implementation of the EU-Central America Association Agreement and the EU-Colombia/Peru/Ecuador Trade Agreement. It also takes part in the EU-CARIFORUM Consultative Committee overseeing the EU-CARIFORUM Economic Partnership Agreement. In addition, the EESC maintains regular dialogue with its institutional counterparts in Mercosur, the Economic and Social Consultative Forum.