Conducted in Spanish, the session gathered an audience interested in the evolving relationship between the two regions in recent years, especially through new trade agreements and potential areas for joint cooperation. INCIPE counted on the participation of Félix Fernández-Shaw, whose extensive diplomatic career includes postings at the Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU and as Head of the Coordination Division for Development Cooperation at the European External Action Service. Since 2022, he has been responsible for relations between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean, and is a key promoter of the Global Gateway strategy.
Fernández-Shaw opened his remarks by emphasizing the need to strengthen the bond between Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and the European Union in a global context marked by unexpected challenges. In this framework, he highlighted the Global Gateway strategy as one of the main budgetary tools to reinforce this relationship.
This renewed momentum traces back to the third EU-CELAC Summit held in July 2023 in Brussels and is expected to be confirmed at the fourth Summit in Santa Marta, Colombia, scheduled for November 2025. According to Fernández-Shaw, there had been an eight-year hiatus in bi-regional meetings until then, and the reactivation of relations was shaped by the geopolitical context in Europe: the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the migration crisis, and the growing commercial rivalry between the United States and China. He also underscored Latin America’s constructive role in defending peace, international law, and the self-determination of peoples, which, in Brussels’ view, makes the region one with few sources of friction.
The speaker highlighted that together the two regions represent nearly one-third of the United Nations member states and share a common vision aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, which originated in Colombia in 2012 around the three “Ps”: people, prosperity, and planet, as well as the 2030 Agenda.
One of the key topics was the call from Latin American presidents in Brussels to advance greater equity and overcome the “primarization” of their economies — that is, dependence on exporting raw materials such as critical minerals, water, soy, meat, or coffee in exchange for finished goods. They emphasized the need for investment in technology and human capital training, aiming to generate added value and move beyond the role of a “mere exporter” of primary sector products.
In response to these demands, the Global Gateway strategy promotes productive investment that goes beyond trade exchanges to foster local industrial development, encourage technology transfer, and support training. This approach would not only boost innovation and human capital but also help stabilize and formalize Latin American economies. Additionally, it would create quality employment with impacts on gender inclusion, access to social security, the consolidation of a middle class, and the reduction of inequalities. Since 2023, projects have integrated environmental, economic, and social components in a transversal manner, aiming to diversify and replicate in Latin America an industrialization model similar to the one China promoted in the 2000s.
Among the highlighted initiatives, Fernández-Shaw mentioned collaboration with the Colombian government to achieve 86% population connectivity, addressing challenges such as rural dispersion and jungle areas; the decarbonization of Brazil and Chile through green hydrogen funds; support for European mining companies in the Southern Cone to promote clean, sustainable, and socially responsible extraction; and tackling non-strictly geopolitical issues such as the sargassum invasion in the Caribbean. He also acknowledged that some projects involve high risks, whether due to sector-specific challenges, lack of qualified personnel, or country conditions. Consequently, in partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Commission, efforts are underway to align the cost of these investments more closely with market conditions.
Lastly, the speaker highlighted that Latin America boasts the greenest energy matrix on the planet, with an average of 30% renewable production — rising to 60% when excluding Mexico — largely thanks to the hydroelectric power generated by the Itaipú Dam between Brazil and Paraguay, the largest in the world. This potential explains European interest in decarbonizing urban, rural, freight, and continental transport, consistent with the Paris Agreements, which LAC strongly supports. The European strategy thus aims to back companies committed to decarbonized production as a means to foster a more sustainable transport industry and balanced development.
The session concluded with an extensive Q&A during which Fernández-Shaw noted that, thanks to CELAC and the Global Gateway strategy, the budget allocated to Latin America has increased from €3.4 billion at the start of the 2021–2027 period to more than €4 billion today. The demographic challenge of an aging population, compounded by the emigration of young people to Europe and the United States, was also discussed, underscoring the urgency for productive investment. Finally, the MERCOSUR-EU agreement was highlighted as a political message in favor of free trade.
Aranzazu Álvarez