2015: Eurolat meetings

The first set of meetings after last year's European elections of the 4 EuroLat Standing Committees, Executive Bureau, Working Group on Migration as well as the EuroLat-Civil Society meeting, Women's Forum and EP-LAC political families took place in Panama City, Panama, from 17-19 March 2015.

Meetings of the Interparliamentary Group EU-Andean Community and the Bureau of the Parlacen and DCAM were also held. Initial preparation took place on 16 March, including preparatory meetings of the Latin American component, EuroLat Co-Secretariats and the EP Secretariat.

The Inaugural Joint Session took place in the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino) with the participation of high-level speakers, including the Speakers of the Parliament of Panama and Parlatino. With some 45 EP Members and 57 Latin American counterparts participating, all meetings proceeded smoothly. One resolution was adopted in the Sustainable Development Committee to be voted by the Assembly Plenary in Brussels in June 2015. In their first meetings since last Plenary in March last year in Athens, the other committees held discussions on a large number of working documents on subjects such as TTIP, China, financing of political parties, combating poverty and digital economy from an EU-LAC perspective.

It was decided that should the conditions be met, the Co-Presidents would issue a Joint Statement on various urgent issues (Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, Ukraine, financial crisis in Europe, etc.) on the basis of article 18 of the Assembly's Rules of Procedure. However, in the end the Venezuela issue proved to be a divisive one thus making impossible a joint statement. For this reason, the DLAT Chair issued a press statement along the lines agreed with the various political groups represented in DLAT and the official positions adopted by EP Plenary and relevant organs.