During the months of March and April preparatory events for the Vth European Union-Latin America and Caribbean (EU-LAC) Summit will be held. The Summit will take place in Lima, Peru from the 13th to the 17th of May 2008. It will follow previous Summits held in Rio de Janeiro (1999), Madrid (2002), Guadalajara (2004) and Vienna (2006).
The overall objective for the Summits is to reiterate the great importance of the European Union’s relations with Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), to underline the genuine mutual interests of the regions and to demonstrate the continuing commitment to strengthening the EU-LAC Strategic Partnership.
The Lima Summit will focus on the two following themes: Poverty, inequality, inclusion on one hand and Sustainable development: climate change; environment; energy on the other.
In March, the IV Euro-Latinamerica-Caribbean Forum of the civil society Hill take place organizad by the Mesa de Articulación. On the other hand, the alternative event, Enlazando Alternativas 3, called by the UE-LAC Network will be held. On the 16th, 17th and 18th of April, the V Gathering of the organized civil society UE-LAC will take place, organized by the Economic Commission and the Economic and Social European Commission.
Even though the trade issue won’t be prioritized in the agenda, environmental sustainability and poverty are directly linked to COPLA. These preparatory events are discussion spaces for the civil society and opportunities to put issues in the agenda.