Towards San Salvador: where Europe meets Latin America

In the run-up to the bi-regional EU-CELAC summit in El Salvador in October, there is talk of a unique opportunity to boost this relationship, due to a rapidly shifting international context. The change of administration in the US, the leading partner for both regions, has triggered a sense of urgency and underlined the need to strengthen political and economic ties.

Successive EU-LAC summit declarations have stressed the commonality of values now under question (multilateralism, peaceful resolution of disputes, democracy and human rights). Federica Mogherini, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Policy, had already identified Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) as a priority region, and she has intensified her visits there this year. But, what sort of partner will the EU encounter in San Salvador this autumn?