On 4 and 5 December, the National University of Distance Education (UNED) in Pontevedra hosted the 2nd EU-LAC Conference – UNED Pontevedra, organised by the EU-LAC Foundation and UNED Pontevedra under the title “Reviewing the outcomes of the 2025 CELAC-EU Summit: New momentum for economic relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and Europe?”.
Held in a hybrid format, the event brought together policymakers, academics and representatives of international organisations with the aim of analysing the outcomes of the 4th CELAC-EU Summit, held in Santa Marta (Colombia), and reflecting on the opportunities and challenges involved in strengthening economic and cooperation relations between the two regions.
The opening session featured contributions from Esther López Martín, Vice-Rector for Educational Innovation at UNED; Rafael Domínguez Artime, First Vice-President of the Provincial Council of Pontevedra; Nicolás Medellín Lizarralde, Counsellor for Foreign Relations at the Embassy of Colombia in Spain; Víctor M. González Sánchez, Director of the UNED Pontevedra Centre; and Anna Barrera, Director of Programmes at the EU-LAC Foundation.
In her opening remarks, Anna Barrera highlighted the role of the EU-LAC Foundation as the intergovernmental organisation responsible for strengthening and giving visibility to the strategic partnership between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean. She underlined that these conferences constitute “a key space to follow up on the commitments undertaken by Heads of State and Government at the recent CELAC-EU Summit and to foster informed dialogue between policymakers, academia and civil society”.
Sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean
The first day was devoted to sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the presentation of two recent reports by the OECD Development Centre, moderated by Anna Barrera. Sebastián Nieto Parra, Head of Latin America and the Caribbean at the OECD Development Centre, presented the main findings of the report Latin American Economic Outlook 2025, which focuses on the need to promote a sustainable productive transformation, strengthen investment in innovation and improve job quality as foundations for more inclusive and resilient growth in the region.
Juan Vázquez Zamora, Deputy Head for Latin America and the Caribbean at the OECD Development Centre, presented the findings of the report Caribbean Development Dynamics, highlighting the high vulnerability of Caribbean countries to climate change, as well as existing opportunities in strategic sectors such as renewable energy, the blue economy, sustainable tourism and digital transformation.
The day continued with a dialogue and debate on sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean, moderated by Víctor M. González Sánchez, Director of the UNED Pontevedra Centre. Participants included Analilia Huitrón Morales, lecturer and researcher at the Autonomous University of Madrid and at Comillas Pontifical University; Francesco Maria Chiodi, Coordinator of the Just Transition component of the European Union Regional Programme on Inclusive Societies in Latin America and the Caribbean (IILA – International Italo-Latin American Organisation); and Vicente Palacio, Director of Foreign Policy at the Alternativas Foundation.
Post-CELAC-EU Summit reflections: trade, investment and Global Gateway
The second day focused on reflections following the 2025 CELAC-EU Summit. In the first session, moderated by Víctor M. González Sánchez, contributions were made by Ernesto Talvi, Senior Researcher at the Elcano Royal Institute and Adjunct Professor of Global and Latin American Economics at IE University Madrid; Arantza Gómez, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Northumbria University; and Detlef Nolte, Associate Researcher at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA).
The debate focused on the progress and limitations of the agreements reached at the Summit, a comparison between the political declarations of Brussels 2023 and Santa Marta 2025, and prospects for bi-regional trade relations, including the state of the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur.
The session dedicated to the investment agenda and the Global Gateway initiative, moderated by Anna Barrera, featured contributions from Érika Rodríguez, Director of the Carolina Foundation; Gustavo Cadenas Delascio, Researcher at the University of Oslo; and Josep Puxeu Rocamora, Vice-Chair of the Latin America Follow-up Committee of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). The speakers analysed how to enhance opportunities for sustainable investment and cooperation in strategic value chains.
Recognition of academic research
The conference also included the award ceremony for the 1st Edition of the Doctoral Thesis Awards in Regional Integration, the European Union and Latin America. María Lozano Vicario (third prize), Daniel Alberto Milia (second prize) and Nelson Joaquín Salazar Recinos (first prize) were recognised.
The jury, represented by Merike Blofield, Director of the Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS – GIGA Hamburg), and Adrián Bonilla, Professor of International Relations at FLACSO Ecuador, highlighted the academic relevance and practical contribution of the awarded research.
Closing session: assessments and future perspectives
In the closing session, Anna Barrera, Director of Programmes at the EU-LAC Foundation, offered a synthesis of the main debates, underlining that, although the Santa Marta Declaration is extensive and general in nature, it allows shared aspirations and significant progress to be identified in areas such as migration, citizen security and the Bi-regional Care Pact.
In Barrera’s words, “traditional forms of development cooperation are no longer pertinent in the current context, and new forms of relationship between regions that share interests and aspirations are still under construction”, emphasising that spaces such as these conferences “are particularly valuable because they allow for innovation, thinking beyond conventional approaches and outlining scenarios for the future of bi-regional cooperation”.
The 2nd EU-LAC Conference – UNED Pontevedra thus consolidated a space for plural and well-grounded dialogue that reinforces the commitment to a closer, more strategic and sustainable development-oriented relationship between Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union.
