President Costa to travel to Latin America for COP30 and EU-CELAC summits 11:22 President Costa will travel to Latin America for COP30 (Brazil) on 6 and 7 November and for the[...]

Early November, the President of the European Council António Costa will travel to Brazil to attend the COP30 climate summit and to Colombia, where he will co-chair the fourth CELAC-EU summit, as well as the EU-Caribbean Leaders' meeting.

COP30 - 6 and 7 November

The United Nations COP 30 Leaders' Summit will take place on in the city of Belém, in the Brazilian Amazon on the 6 and 7 of November. The summit will focus on the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the assessment of countries' updated climate action plans (NDCs).

EU-CELAC - 9 November

Two years after their successful multilateral summit in Brussels, the Leaders of the European Union (EU) member states and the 33 countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) will meet in Santa Marta, Colombia for the fourth CELAC-EU summit. The summit will be co-chaired by the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, in his current role as CELAC pro tempore president, and the President of the European Council, António Costa.

The CELAC-EU summit underscores the commitment of both regions to strengthen their longstanding partnership, which is founded on shared values and interests as well as and strong economic, social, cultural and people-to-people ties. The meeting aims to further enhance cooperation on global challenges and to continue transforming our shared aspirations into concrete actions for the benefit of the people on both continents.

Discussions will also touch upon priorities such as the defence of multilateralism, trade and investment, the green and digital transitions, and the joint fight against organised crime, corruption and drug and human trafficking, as well as explore new avenues for collaboration to promote peace, security and prosperity in both regions.

Background

COP

On 21 October, the Council approved the conclusions on the EU's preparations for the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30). They outline the EU's key priorities and positions for the conference, focusing on the urgent need for global climate action and collaboration. On 4 November, the Council will also aim to reach a general approach on Europe's 2040 climate target and approve Europe's Nationally Determined Contribution for 2035.

• COP30: Council sets EU position for the climate conference in Belém (press release, 21 October 2025)

CELAC - Caribbean region

With over 1 billion people, CELAC and the EU together represent 14% of the world's population, 21% of global GDP and one-third of UN membership. EU's relations with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) as a strategic partnership date back to 1999, when the first bi-regional EU-LAC summit was held in Rio de Janeiro. Since the creation of CELAC in 2010, three EU-CELAC summits were held in 2013, 2015 and 2023. The summit constitutes the main forum for dialogue and cooperation between EU and CELAC states, which maintain regular high-level contacts through several bi- and sub-regional political and sectoral dialogues and coordination mechanisms.

The EU-LAC relations involve one of the world's densest trade networks, with a total bilateral trade in goods and service of €395 billion in 2022-2023 (+45% since 2013). The EU is the third trading partner of the LAC region, while LAC countries are the EU's fifth largest trade partner. The EU is the leading source of investment in the region, providing over €741 billion of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2022. The EU-LAC partnership is further supported by the Global Gateway investment agenda, focused on green and digital transition projects in the LAC region.

• COP30 climate summit, Belém, Brazil, 6-7 November 2025
• EU-CELAC summit, 9-10 November 2025