Venue: Fundación Botín
Thursday, 11 December 2025, from 12:00 to13:30h. Venue: Fundación Botín (C/ Castelló, nº 18 C. Madrid).
In the face of growing geopolitical rivalry and rising protectionism, the EU is redesigning its trade policy to broaden international alliances and strengthen its economic security. Latin America and the Caribbean emerge as a reliable and like-minded partner, with abundant critical raw materials (lithium, copper) and major potential in renewable energy, while the EU contributes capital, technology and know-how to develop decarbonised bi-regional value chains.
In this context, the EU–Mercosur Association Agreement is a central pillar: it provides a modern bi-regional framework, eliminates most tariffs, reduces non-tariff barriers, protects geographical indications and places sustainability —implementation of the Paris Agreement, the fight against deforestation and labour rights— at the heart of the relationship. Studies estimate that it could significantly increase bilateral trade flows without diverting trade away from third markets.
Once ratified and combined with mechanisms to interconnect the various FTAs that the EU has with Latin America, the agreement could become the basis for an EU–Latin America bi-regional economic area, with strong incentives to develop green industrial value chains with high value added and trigger a new wave of European investment into the region.
Spain, thanks to its dense network of interests, linguistic proximity and political influence in the region, is particularly well placed to promote ratification of the EU-Mercosur agreement, to shape concrete projects under the Global Gateway framework and to play a leading role in this emerging economic space.
Hashtag: #ElcanoUEALC
Programme
Chair: José Juan Ruiz, Chairman, Elcano Royal Institute | @ElcanoJjRuiz
Participants:
- Anna Ayuso, Senior Research Fellow for Latin America, CIDOB | @AyusoAnna
- Érika Rodríguez, Director, Fundación Carolina | @emaropi
- José Manuel Rodríguez, Global Head for Government and Institutional Affairs, Iberdrola | @iberdrola
- Ernesto Talvi, Senior Fellow, Elcano Royal Institute | @ernesto_talvi
– The event will be held in Spanish without simultaneous translation.
– Please, send RSVP to confirmaciones@rielcano.org .
Image: Polygonal world map centred on the Atlantic. Credits: Getty Images.
