VI EU-LAC Summit in Madrid, Spain
The international organisation EU-LAC Foundation is the result of the commitment between the European Union (EU) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to strengthen their relations. This will was initially expressed at the I EU-LAC Summit in 1999 in Rio de Janeiro, where the bi-regional strategic partnership was established.
At the V EU-LAC Summit in Lima on 16 May 2008, it was agreed to move towards the creation of a foundation to enhance bi-regional dialogue. To this end, a working group was set up to define its objectives, nature, governance and funding.
The official decision to create the EU-LAC Foundation was taken by the EU and LAC Heads of State and Government, the President of the European Council and the President of the Commission at the VI EU-LAC Summit in Madrid, Spain, on 18 May 2010. According to the Madrid Declaration, the entity was conceived as ‘a useful instrument to strengthen our bi-regional partnership and as a means to stimulate debate on common strategies and actions, as well as to enhance its visibility’.
EU-LAC began operating in November 2011, under German civil law, as a transitional foundation, based in Hamburg. Subsequently, at the 1st CELAC-EU Summit in 2013, a request was made to move forward with its transformation into an international organisation. The Constitutive Agreement of the organisation was opened for ratification in October 2016, having been the first international agreement negotiated by the 61 members of the strategic partnership between the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean. The Constitutive Agreement entered into force on 17 May 2019, establishing the EU-LAC Foundation as an international intergovernmental organisation, with legal personality under public international law. To consult the Agreement available in 23 languages click here.
15 Years Building Bridges Between the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean
History of the organisation
Entry into Force of the Constituent Agreement
With the receipt of the instruments of ratification by at least eight States from each region, including the deposit by the Federal Republic of Germany and the European Union, the Agreement establishing the EU-LAC Foundation entered into force, giving it international legal personality and consolidating its status as an international intergovernmental organisation.
Opening of the Agreement for Ratification
The Constitutive Agreement, which represented the first international treaty negotiated by the 61 members of the EU-CELAC bi-regional partnership, was opened for ratification. The European Council was designated as the depositary of the instrument.
Call for the Conversion into an International Organisation
During the First CELAC-EU Summit held in Santiago de Chile, the Heads of State and Government reaffirmed the political will to elevate the legal status of the Foundation. In paragraph 26 of the Santiago Declaration, they called for the prompt conclusion of the negotiations for its transformation into an international organisation of intergovernmental nature, subject to public international law.
Start of operations
In April 2011, following an open and competitive process involving three European cities, it was decided that the headquarters of the EU-LAC Foundation would be in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg in Germany. The first president and executive director were also appointed.
In November 2011, the EU-LAC Foundation officially started operating as a legal entity under the civil law of the Federal Republic of Germany as a transitional foundation, pending the entry into force of its founding agreement as an international organisation.
Decision to establish the EU-LAC Foundation
In the framework of the VI EU-LAC Summit held in Madrid, Spain, the Heads of State and Government, together with the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission, adopted the decision to create the EU-LAC Foundation, with the mandate to strengthen the bi-regional partnership and promote its visibility.
Decision to consider the creation of a bi-regional foundation
In the framework of the V EU-LAC Summit in Lima, Peru, the Heads of State and Government agreed to move towards the creation of a bi-regional foundation as an instrument to support the strengthening of the strategic partnership. To this end, a bi-regional working group was set up to define the essential elements of the future entity.
Establishment of the Bi-regional Strategic Partnership
During the First EU-LAC Summit, held on 28-29 June in Rio de Janeiro, the strategic partnership between Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and the European Union (EU) was established, laying the foundations for a structured and permanent bi-regional cooperation.