The CELAC-EU Summit advances its shared agenda with the declaration of a Bi-regional Pact on Care

Written for the EULAS Network and the EU–LAC Foundation. Learn more: https://eulacfoundation.org/es/difusion/blog-eu-lac

Revitalising bi-regional dialogue and the emergence of care as a political priority

Two years after the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the European Union (EU) and CELAC in Brussels, the city of Santa Marta hosted a new meeting in 2025, thus resuming bi-regional conversations after a much shorter interval than before. Within this framework, and notwithstanding the absence of many leaders from both regions, the new summit concluded with concrete deliverables that help further shape joint cooperation in an increasingly conflictive world.

One of the most significant outcomes was the launch of the Bi-regional Pact on Care. This is a declaration which, although non-binding, carries substantial potential to address—using widely employed United Nations terminology—one of the main structural knots of global gender inequality. In this regard, it is noteworthy that the document establishing the bi-regional Pact was unanimously endorsed by all 27 EU member states and by 16 of the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) -  Colombia, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay - , which have explicitly committed to deepening their partnership on care through a series of agreed principles.

Looking at recent history, while bi-regional work had maintained certain continuities during the eight-year hiatus between the 2015 and 2023 summits, convening a new meeting in Brussels had not been sufficient to formalise this pact - which had been promoted by a constellation of actors across both regions. Here, it is important to highlight the crucial role of civil society organisations within the bi-regional space, whose work ensured that the document maintained momentum. In this line, the contributions of feminist movements, international organisations, and academia are particularly key, as they have long driven, problematised, and made visible the undeniable relevance of care for the sustainability of life.

The role of context in advancing the agenda

The multistakeholder work underpinning the realisation of this document is articulated with, and complements, the depth and impetus given to care discussions by regional platforms such as the Regional Conferences on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean. Organised by ECLAC since 1977, and in coordination with UN Women since 2020, these conferences have been pivotal in developing a common language and positioning care work in LAC with bi-regional and global projection. They have been instrumental in amplifying and coordinating powerful voices on care from civil society, academia, international organisations, and governments at various levels.

It is no coincidence that the post-Covid context—a phenomenon that, due to the overlapping crises it entailed, was described by some care experts as a syndemic —provided the conditions for the 2022 Regional Conference on Women to place the concept of care society at the heart of its agenda, resulting in the Buenos Aires Commitment. That same year, the European Union launched another key framework: the European Care Strategy. Both documents, alongside other precedents not detailed here for reasons of brevity, were decisive in paving the way towards the realisation of this initiative.

It is also important to acknowledge the role of local governments from both regions, which in 2025 continued this dialogue at the Forum held in Bogotá a few days before the Summit. As is well known, local governments often constitute the first point of contact with care needs on the ground and will seek to play a role in implementing the Pact.

Another notable aspect is that the document was launched under the auspices of a Latin American country—Colombia—which currently holds the Pro Tempore Presidency of CELAC. This initiative aligns with the emphasis placed on care by various governments in both regions, which have developed, or are in the process of developing, comprehensive care systems.

At an institutional level, the role played by, and now formally entrusted to, the EU-LAC Foundation is significant. Celebrating its 15th anniversary, the EU-LAC Foundation’s mission is precisely to build bridges between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean. From the outset, the organisation has been involved in the process leading to the Pact, convening and systematising multistakeholder dialogues, supporting the identification of good practices, and facilitating a series of consultations in conjunction with the Global Alliance for Care. It has also amplified voices to discuss issues such as funding and resources—for instance, in the Care Pavilion at the Financing for Development Conference held last July in Seville—among other actions carried out by the EU-LAC Foundation and its International Women’s Network (EU-LAC WIN). The EU-LAC Foundation is expected to support this network and, as stipulated in paragraph 15 of the launched document, to present concrete proposals to be considered by authorities, in order to advance towards a care society, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.

In addition, a further milestone in consolidating this agenda was the pronouncement by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in mid-2025, through Advisory Opinion 31/2025. In its decision, the Court recognised care as an autonomous human right in its threefold dimension: the right to care, the right to receive care, and the right to self-care. This opens an avenue for further bi-regional engagement on the explicit recognition of care from this perspective. There is also room for further developing an intersectional standpoint and better acknowledging community-based care. These two points have been emphasised by the CELAC-EU Civil Society Working Group and were discussed at the Civil Society Forum preceding the Summit.

The added value of the Pact and next steps

Without claiming to be hierarchical or exhaustive, one of the main deliverable’s potential lies in its capacity to establish a concrete framework for cooperation on a crucial social issue: all human beings need, and will continue to need, care. This need is not confined to the extremes of the life cycle, and/or to the support that persons with disabilities may require, but extends broadly to make our lives simply possible. The Pact, therefore, provides an important starting point for deepening definitions around care, and advancing measures to meet the growing care needs in both regions. 

Another significant aspect is that the text incorporates the concept of care societies, recognising as well support systems - in line with the 2023 United Nations General Assembly proclamation of the International Day of Care and Support. Regarding the conceptualisation and problematisation of the agenda, LAC has made valuable contributions to the discussions, including, for example, the recognition of ancestral care for the land and our ecosystems, without which there would be no lives to care for.

In sum, much remains to be analysed regarding the outcomes, opportunities and challenges arising from the Pact, and to evaluate its future implementation. Following its recent announcement, the latter point is one of the most open-ended aspects. At the same time, it is important to take a moment to celebrate this achievement: both regions now possess a framework that not only facilitates the negotiation and prioritisation of care on the political agenda with renewed vigour, but also represents a strategic positioning. 

This agenda is also likely to face contestation; historically, it has always evolved in this way, and that enriches the discussion. It also merits close attention to address its limitations and fill the gaps that remain unresolved. Areas for strengthening include greater clarity on working and implementation mechanisms, enhanced accountability, greater inclusion of underrepresented voices, clear monitoring instruments, effective resource allocation, funding tools, and a perspective that mainstreams the inseparable and constitutive link between care and structural gender inequalities, to name but a few.

In the current complex geopolitical context, it is indeed remarkable that one of the consensus these two regions have reached involves care itself. This achievement did not come about in isolation; it clearly reflects a collaborative effort among multiple stakeholders at various levels. This process required, first, creating a space for dialogue, and then, maintaining care as a high-level political priority.

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Natalia Escoffier is a doctoral researcher in the MSCA Doctoral Network LAC-EU: Understanding Latin American Challenges in the 21st Century. She is pursuing a PhD in Political and Social Sciences at Universitat Pompeu Fabra and is based at the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI), supervised by Andrea C. Bianculli. Her research examines how a regional care agenda is being shaped in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and the European Union through multilevel governance processes.

As part of the doctoral network, she completed a professional secondment at the EU-LAC Foundation in late 2025, gaining direct experience with initiatives related to the Bi-regional Pact on Care. She holds a BA in Political Science (with honours) from the University of Buenos Aires, an MA in Social Policy Design and Management from FLACSO Argentina, and an MA in Gender, Identities, and Citizenship from the University of Cádiz, where she studied as a Fundación Carolina scholar.

The opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of the EULAS Network.