As part of the International Democracy Day Brussels (IDD Brussels) 2025, the EU-LAC Foundation, in collaboration with International IDEA, is organising a special session dedicated to reflecting on the role of the forthcoming IV EU-CELAC Summit as an opportunity to strengthen democracy in both regions.
This session will focus on how the upcoming EU-CELAC Summit can contribute to reinvigorating democracy across the two regions. It will examine the challenges the Summit must take into account in relation to democracy, the rule of law and human rights, as well as the issues that member states of the bi-regional EU-CELAC partnership should address and what they may expect from the Summit. Furthermore, it will explore the recommendations that could be put forward to ensure democracy features prominently on the Summit’s agenda.
It also seeks to highlight the importance of the EU-CELAC bi-regional relationship for strengthening democracy in the global context, while also creating an interactive space to stimulate discussion on bi-regional synergies, the role of multilateralism and the need to safeguard a healthy civic space. At the same time, it will promote the exchange of knowledge, frameworks for action, good practices and strategies to address democratic challenges in Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe, with the aim of contributing key inputs to the agenda of the forthcoming EU-CELAC Summit in Colombia in November 2025.
The session will be moderated by Alberto Brunori, Executive Director of the EU-LAC Foundation, and will feature a keynote address by Laura Chinchilla, former President of Costa Rica. The panel will also include Inma D. Alonso, Head of EU–Latin America and Caribbean Relations and Development Financing at the Coordinating Committee of Development Organisations, and Christian Burgsmüller, Head of Division Americas 1, European External Action Service.
Since 2015, the International Democracy Day Brussels (IDD Brussels) has been held annually to commemorate this date and is considered the leading forum on democracy in the city. The conference brings together representatives from the public sector, democracy practitioners, civil society organisations and experts from Europe and other regions to discuss emerging issues related to democracy and the urgent need to build global alliances to protect it.
The 2025 edition of IDD Brussels will take place on 18 and 19 September under the theme “A world turned upside down: Democracy and Inclusion in an Age of Insecurity”. The event will explore the intersection between democratic values, security, inclusion and global influence, seen as a pressing challenge for Europe and its international partners.