Texte ale UE

A Partnership between Mexico and the EU was proposed in a "communication" from the European Commission to the to the European Council and the European Parliament called, "Towards an EU-Mexico Strategic Partnership". The document is dated 15 July 2008.

The text states:
"The main reason for establishing a strategic partnership with Mexico consists in the opportunity of further cementing our coordination in key multilateral fora and institutions.[...] A closer relationship with Mexico could also facilitate the development of consensus on key regional issues between the EU and its Latin American partners."

In October 2008, the Council of the EU issued "conclusions" on the Commission's proposal, endorsing the partnership:
"the Council considers that the time has now come to enter a new stage as this will enable the EU to fully enhance its special relations with a State that shares similar values and principles and exerts growing influence on the global scene."

On 12 March 2009, the European Parliament adopted a recommendation on this communication, expressing MEPs' "hopes that the Strategic Partnership will mark a qualitative leap in EU-Mexico relations" and arguing that "there must be a regular flow of information from the EU institutions and the Mexican government to the European Parliament, EuroLat and the EU-Mexico Joint Parliamentary Committee on the state of play regarding the Strategic Partnership and on the monitoring of the actions taken under it."

In 2010, a "Joint Executive Plan" for the partnership was adopted by the Council of the EU.

The "Economic Partnership, Political Coordination and Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the United Mexican States, of the other part" was signed in 1997 and came into force in November 2000. The Agreement is commonly called the "Global Agreement".

The Agreement includes the following recommendation on inter-parliamentary dialogue: "The Parties underline the advisability of institutionalising a political dialogue at Parliamentary level by means of contacts between the European Parliament and the Mexican Congress (Chamber of Deputies and Senate)."

The Agreement also specifies the essential elements of bilateral relations between the European Community and Mexico. Political dialogue is instituted, and trade and economic relations are intensified with a free trade area for goods and services.

The Agreement's signatories affirm "the value of human dignity and of the promotion and protection of human rights as cornerstones of a democratic society, as well as the essential role of democratic institutions based on the rule of law".

In May 2016, the EU and Mexico launched the negotiations to modernise the Global Agreement, including rules on trade.