Two years on: the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean flip Global Gateway commitments into motion

Two years after launching the €45 billion EU-Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Global Gateway Investment Agenda (GGIA), leaders from the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean met for the 4^th CELAC-EU Summit to ship on shared priorities, from commerce and investments to justice, safety and local weather resilience.

The Summit came about on from 7 to 10 November 2025 and was hosted by Colombia in Santa Marta. The occasion gathered authorities, enterprise and civil society leaders, from 33 Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the 27 EU Member States. It offered an opportunity to construct upon and evaluate progress made underneath the EU-LAC GGIA since its launch on the EU-CELAC Summit in 2023.

In the margins of the Summit, the LAC-EU Business Forum and LAC-EU Civil Society Forum gave form to the partnership’s financial and social pillars, figuring out new funding alternatives with the non-public sector whereas amplifying civil society priorities.

European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela stated: “Since the last CELAC EU Summit in 2023, our Global Gateway Investment Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean has moved from vision to delivery. Together, our partnership improves the lives of people and businesses by expanding renewable electricity networks, bringing internet to remote areas, and protecting communities with better storm forecasting. This partnership is creating jobs and building a greener, safer and more connected future for both our regions”.

Dialogue driving supply

LAC-EU Civil Society Forum

Held on 7 and eight November, the LAC-EU Civil Society Forum introduced collectively over 200 representatives from Latin America, the Caribbean and the EU to trade views on shared challenges and alternatives. Co-organised by the Government of Colombia and the EU, it constructed on the 2023 version to advertise inclusive, participatory diplomacy, participating youth, ladies’s and indigenous organisations. The occasion concluded with a Joint Declaration of Civil Society, presenting key citizen priorities and proposals to Summit leaders.

LAC-EU Business Forum

Complementing this civic dialogue, the Business Forum that came about on 9 and 10 November convened enterprise and authorities leaders to translate shared ambitions into funding alternatives underneath the EU-LAC Global Gateway Investment Agenda. Organised by Colombia, the EU, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), discussions centered on inexperienced funding, digital connectivity, sustainable transport and market integration, paving the best way for brand new public-private partnerships and nearer financial ties between each areas.

Delivering outcomes underneath Global Gateway

Powering a resilient, related area

LAC nations are accelerating the event of transformative cross-border electrical infrastructure to forge cohesive regional vitality markets. To help this goal, a €6.86 billion value Bi-regional Initiative on Regional Electricity Integration will fund 24 initiatives over the following years to spice up clear vitality era, transmission and commerce. With €2.73 billion within the strategy of being dedicated by Team Europe, the initiative combines technical help and large-scale infrastructure funding. It will improve grid effectivity and resilience, enhance cost-effectiveness, and speed up using renewable vitality sources.

This effort is rolled out as a part of the Global Gateway technique, and in cooperation with main monetary companions. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is offering as much as €2 billion, out of which €1 billion will increase electrical energy integration and vitality transition in Central America. EU improvement finance establishments are additionally contributing vital sources. The initiative is applied in coordination with key regional establishments together with CELAC, the Latin American Energy Organization, the IDB Group, CAF, and the establishments of the Central American Electricity Market and of the Andean Community.

Building resilience within the face of maximum climate

As hurricanes and floods intensify throughout the area, the EU and the Caribbean are launching Stormwatch, a sophisticated partnership on climate, forecasting, and local weather companies for catastrophe danger administration.

Through Copernicus, the EU’s Earth remark programme, the Caribbean will achieve entry to superior satellite tv for pc knowledge, meteorological infrastructure, such because the Destination Earth

platform and EU supercomputing capability. This entry will help the area by enhancing tropical cyclone modelling, early warning programs and long-term local weather planning. 

A brand new Copernicus Competence Centre on the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology will even be established and function a hub for experience. The EU is contributing €1.5 million to the help the Institute in responding to excessive climate occasions, monitoring each areas and selling coordination regionally and throughout the Atlantic.

Launching the EU-LAC Supercomputing Network for AI

First introduced on the Global Gateway Forum in October 2025, the EU-LAC Supercomputing Network for AI is now being formally launched. It transforms the Forums’ momentum and the €15 million in commitments from the EU, Spain and Brazil into concrete cooperation amongst analysis and innovation hubs throughout Europe and Latin America. The community will join high-performance computing centres to speed up scientific collaboration and data-driven innovation.

In parallel, the BELLA programme will increase its attain by way of cable capability sharing, counting on the Ellalink fibre-optic cable linking Europe and Brazil, to incorporate Costa Rica and Guatemala by the tip of 2025 and can proceed to attach Central America, Peru and the Caribbean in 2026. These initiatives will additional increase digital cooperation, knowledge sharing, and innovation throughout the Atlantic.

Connecting the area by satellite tv for pc

Through Global Gateway and the EU-LAC Digital Alliance, the EU is supporting the enlargement of dependable, shared satellite tv for pc telecom infrastructure throughout the area. Led by Hispasat, a European satellite tv for pc operator, and backed by €22.5 million in EU and Spanish grants, the initiative is predicted to leverage as much as €864 million for initiatives in Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union.

It will enhance entry to schooling, healthcare and e-government companies, whereas creating safe networks for public establishments such because the police, judiciary and border authorities. Supported by Spain and CAF, the initiative will lead to a collectively designed and operated regional satellite tv for pc owned by the area. This step will strengthen the technological sovereignty of taking part nations, enabling the design and administration of public insurance policies independently of international operators and bringing digital entry to probably the most distant elements of the Amazon and Caribbean islands.

Transforming seaweed invasion into a possibility

The EU reinforces its dedication to the Caribbean to remodel the rising environmental problem of sargassum seaweed accumulation right into a sustainable financial alternative. This flagship initiative helps the creation of regional worth chains and inexperienced industries for sargassum processing. 

Responding to repeated calls from Caribbean and Latin American leaders, the European Union has positioned itself as a convener and catalyst for motion, serving to rework the sargassum disaster into a possibility for financial development, innovation, and regional cooperation. Our strategy combines EU expertise, funding, and authorities engagement to ship value-generating, bankable, and round financial system options.

In complete, over €300 million in potential loans and €60 million in potential grants have been recognized as Team Europe help to handle sargassum-related investments throughout the area. The introduction of revolutionary open Expressions of Interest permits to mobilise non-public firms and traders and convey ahead concrete, scalable options. 

Building on the announcement made on the EU-Caribbean Global Gateway Conference on Sargassum in October 2025, the EU can be additional supporting the ambitions of Grenada, Mexico and the Dominican Republic to show 660,000 tonnes of sargassum into revolutionary options and new inexperienced jobs.

Reinforcing cooperation on citizen safety

The EU is extending and topping up two lengthy standing programmes, COPOLAD and EUROFRONT, with an extra €8 million every to proceed their work till 2029 and broaden EUROFRONT’s geographical scope to Central America. Emphasis can be given to handle rising threats corresponding to trafficking and drug-related violence whereas strengthening joint efforts on drug coverage, migration administration and the struggle towards organised crime by way of human rights-based, regional approaches to safety. 

Together with different key programmes corresponding to EL PACCTO 2.0 towards transnational organised crime, they kind a central a part of the brand new EU-LAC Alliance on Citizen Security launched on the CELAC-EU Summit, additional enhancing bi-regional cooperation in step with the EU-LAC Partnership on Justice and Security.

Background

Global Gateway

Global Gateway is the EU’s constructive supply to scale back the worldwide funding disparity and increase good, clear and safe connections in digital, vitality and transport sectors, and to strengthen well being, schooling and analysis programs.

The Global Gateway technique embodies a Team Europe strategy that brings collectively the European Union, EU Member States, and European improvement finance establishments. Together, we’re creating important hyperlinks somewhat than dependencies and shutting the worldwide funding hole.

EU-LAC Global Gateway Investment Agenda

Launched through the 2023 EU-CELAC Summit, the EU-LAC GGIA is the cornerstone of the EU’s partnership with Latin America and the Caribbean. Mobilising €45 billion from Team Europe – the EU, its Member States, improvement financing establishments together with the European Investment Bank and the non-public sector – to ship initiatives which are inexperienced, digital, people-centred and truthful.

For More Information

Global Gateway 

Global Gateway Investment Agenda

Americas and the Caribbean

Joint Declaration of the CELAC-EU Summit

EU-CELAC relations: Infographic