One of the strategic priorities of Club de Madrid for the 2020-2022 period is to promote and defend a global environment that is favourable for democracy, including the support of the multilateral system as a guarantor of inclusive, consensual, and sustainable answers to transnational challenges. Within the framework of this priority, the Members of Club de Madrid are committed to promoting a strong and effective European Union that can respond to the needs of its citizens and perform an important role as a global actor.
Since 2020, Club de Madrid, under the leadership of its president, Danilo Türk, has organized a series of consultations, dialogues and debates to contribute to the reflection on the strengthening of the European Union in a context of increasing uncertainty, volatility, and polarization. Parts of these activities were developed using the framework of the efforts of the Government of Spain and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union, and Cooperation to generate processes of debate and reflection on the Future of Europe.
Spain will, for the fifth time, assume the Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the second half of 2023. The year 2023 will be an important year for the Spanish efforts to contribute to the strengthening of the European project. The Spanish government has months of hard work ahead to reflect and make use of its privileged position within the UE and Latin America and the Caribbean and turn their presidency into an opportunity to promote strategic priorities and strengthen relationships between both regions.
In a context of growing geopolitical polarization aggravated by the pandemic, an increasing presence of China, the war in Ukraine, and the threat that Putin poses to the European Union and democracy as a whole, the building of a link between Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean is, at the very least, strategic. The countries of the European Union, Latin America, and the Caribbean consist of almost a third of the members of the United Nations and are largely represented in intergovernmental initiatives like the G20. A strategic alignment of shared values between the regions would decisively transform the multilateral agenda and address global challenges.
Club de Madrid wants to contribute to strengthening the relationship between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean within the framework of the 2023 presidency by using the experience of Club de Madrid Members from these regions. Members of Club de Madrid can be of great assistance in the framework of European reflections and negotiations. Many of them have participated in the birth and development of the European Union and know the European institutions and their political leadership well. Therefore, their professions can be very useful in addressing Spain’s challenges.
The project has developed six key products:
4. An in-person public meeting in Spain about the future of the strategic relationship between the European Union, Latin America, and the Caribbean with Members of Club de Madrid and representatives of all regions’ civil societies.
Video Summary: European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean: A Future of Shared Values
This video is a summary of the session of “European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean: A Future of Shared Values”. You can watch the full discussion below:
5. Recording of a podcast about the strategic relationship of both regions that will form part of the “Democracy in Practice” channel of Club de Madrid’s podcast
6. Internal consultations between Members of Club de Madrid from the European Union, Latin America, and the Caribbean region.
