The Lima Summit was yet another opportunity to discuss the many common interests, define mutual objectives and to find a common way forward. Since the first Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1999, the EU-Latin America and Caribbean Summit process has been very important to consolidate the relationship between the two regions and to enable a high-level political dialogue. It strengthens a multilateral approach to a number of globally important issues and therefore contributes to fostering peace, stability and the respect for international law. Concerning the EU, our policy is guided by the Communication by the European Commission on the EU - Latin America partnership setting out a strategy to develop and improve the relations between the two regions further.

Besides the two main themes of the Summit (social cohesion and sustainable development), other important topics such as democracy and human rights, migration, regional integration, trade and investment, drugs and organised crime or development cooperation were debated.

The text of the communication can be found at: http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/lac/docs/com05_636_en.pdf [454 KB]