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Federica Mogherini's speech at the formal opening of the EU-CELAC Ministerial Meeting

26.10.2016
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Speech by High Representative / Vice-President Federica Mogherini at the formal opening of the EU-CELAC Ministerial Meeting

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Excelentísimo Presidente [Danilo Medina Sánchez, President of the Dominican Republic],

Excelentísimo Canciller,

Dear Ministers, colleagues and friends,

Es un placer para mí encontrarme de nuevo con los colegas y amigos de América Latina y el Caribe, en la ocasión de esta importante reunión.

Son tiempos de cambio para el continente. Tiempos en los que las antiguas líneas divisorias – heredadas de la Guerra Fría – finalmente se han borrado. Pero sabemos que las transiciones históricas no siempre son lineares. Entonces tenemos la responsabilidad de gobernar el cambio en América Latina, en el Caribe y en Europa.

Este año el Premio Nobel de la Paz lo ha recibido Colombia, y con Colombia, toda América Latina. Permítanme que felicite a mi amigo el Presidente Santos y a Maria Ángela, la cancillera Holguín, porque la Unión Europea apoya plenamente su esfuerzo adicional, y el esfuerzo de los colombianos, para conseguir una paz estable y duradera. Hemos apoyado el proceso de paz hasta ahora, vamos a seguir apoyando y acompañando todos los esfuerzos para abrir un nuevo histórico capítulo en Colombia.

Mais les défis auxquels nous sommes confrontés sont énormes. Nous le savons très bien ici dans les Caraïbes, en Amérique Latine et en Europe. Mais nous pouvons les affronter avec succès si nous le faisons ensemble: penser au changement climatique et à l'Accord de Paris. Nous sommes arrivés à le signer ensemble. Nous ne saurions toutefois oublier le nouvel ouragan particulièrement violent qui a frappé à nouveau les Caraïbes il y a à peine trois semaines. Haïti a spécialement souffert des destructions qui ont accompagné cet ouragan et je voudrais adresser mes plus sincères condoléances aux victimes des familles et surtout vous assurer du soutien plein de l'Union européenne maintenant et dans le futur.

From climate change to the economy, from peace and security to migration, we are so much stronger when we face these challenges that are common challenges together, across the Atlantic. And indeed the ties between Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean have never been stronger. We have a very, very full agenda in these two days on work including the signature of the international agreement for the EU-LAC Foundation.

But our partnership can never settle for what we already have: we want to aim higher. And it is with this spirit that the European Union, all our Member States, comes to Santo Domingo. We had a very successful summit of our heads of States and governments in Brussels last year. We, Foreign Ministers, have a special responsibility, and opportunity today to follow it up and guarantee that not only our Summit but also all the work in between our Summits is success for the benefits of all our people.

So you can be sure that one global power will always be committed to Latin America and the Caribbean and that is the European Union. We are committed to our partnership and more than that, let me say, we are committed to our daily friendship. We are tied by the same culture, but there is much more than history that we share. We are tied by the same commitment to a fair economy, social justice and a multilateral world order.

So when we say that we share the same principles and the same values, we do not just say this, we mean that we live it in our daily work

Juntos, podemos realisar un nuevo vínculo transatlántico – un nuevo vínculo entre todos los continentes del Atlántico, al norte y al sur. Juntos, podemos más.

Muchas gracias, merci, thank you.

Category
HR/VP speeches
Location

Santo Domingo, 25 October 2016

Editorial sections
EEAS
Latin America & the Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Grenada
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Saint-Kitts and Nevis
Saint-Lucia
Saint-Vincent and the Grenadines
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
Uruguay
Venezuela