The Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat) will hold its fifteenth meeting in Madrid from 24 to 27 July, one week after the 17-18 July summit in Brussels of leaders of the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). The 150 members of EuroLat – 75 MEPs and 75 representatives of parliaments from Latin America and the Caribbean – will evaluate the results and conclusions of the summit, the first since 2015.
H.M. King Felipe VI will receive the participants at the Palace of El Pardo on Monday 24 July at 17:30. Journalists who wish to be accredited to cover this meeting should send an email to comunicacion@casareal.es.
Agenda and information for journalists
The EuroLat Assembly will be held at the seat of the Spanish Senate.
President of the Government of Spain Pedro Sánchez is scheduled to give the opening speech at the inauguration (TBC), which will take place on Wednesday 26 July at 11:15. He will be followed by the statements of the President of the Senate, Ander Gil, the President of the Congress of Deputies, Meritxell Batet, and the Co-Chairs of EuroLat, MEP Javi López (S&D, ES) and Colombian congressman Óscar Darío Pérez.
After this session at 13:30, a press conference will take place in the Hall of Lost Steps of the Senate, which will be webstreamed here (only in ES). Journalists who wish to take part in the press conference and cover the EuroLat assembly must register at the Spanish Senate by writing to acreditaciones.prensa@senado.es (specifying full name, ID or passport number, name of the media they represent and sessions they plan to attend.) The accreditation must be collected at the entrance to the Senate in the Bailén Street.
The EuroLat plenary session will take place on Thursday 27 July, where reports and recommendations prepared in advance on Tuesday 25 July by the various committees and working groups comprising EuroLat will be discussed and voted on. Some of the topics include the fight against hate speech, the regulation of digital platforms, the challenges posed by COVID-19 in education and health, access to water, the fight against organised crime, trade negotiations and the universal declaration of the rights of nature.
The closing session will take place on Thursday at 13:30, with a keynote speech by the the acting Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, as well as interventions from the President of the Senate, Ander Gil, and the EuroLat Co-Chairs López and newly elected Amado Cerrud on the Latin American component of the Assembly.
Background
The Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat) is the parliamentary institution of the Bi-Regional Strategic Partnership European Union – Latin America and the Caribbean, and meets in plenary session once a year. The last plenary session took place in April 2022 in Buenos Aires (Argentina).
The Assembly consists of 150 members. Among the 75 members of the Latin American component are representatives of the Parlatino (Latin American Parliament), Parlandino (Andean Parliament), Parlacen (Central American Parliament), Parlasur (Mercosur Parliament) and the joint parliamentary committees of Chile and Mexico.