COP30 at Belém
COP 30, or the Committee of the Parties, was held in Belém in Brazil in November 2025. Local governments were represented at COP by mayors and local government leaders and their networks who tr ...
European Union–Latin America and Caribbean Local and Regional Governments Forum
20 November 2025
CLGF was a proud partner in the 2025 European Union–Latin America and Caribbean Local and Regional Governments Forum (EU–LAC LRG Forum), organised in Bogotá (Colombia) from November 5 to 6, 2025.
The Forum was launched with a welcome reception on the 5th, hosted by the European Commission and a full day of meetings on 6 Nov in the Bogota City Hall. The Forum brought together 96 participants (twice the number initially expected), including 22 political representatives from LRGs representing 15 countries:
- 4 from the EU: Spain, France, Sweden, and the Netherlands
- 11 from CELAC: Costa Rica, Mexico, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Saint Lucia, Jamaica and Ecuador
The Forum took place in conjunction with the EU – CELAC Summit of Heads of State and Government (9-10 November in Santa Marta, Colombia) and presented a Final Declaration reflecting the positions of subnational governments from both regions on key issues. The LRG meeting also sought to convey to the Summit the political positions and proposals of subnational governments regarding the bi-regional agenda, strengthen political dialogue and institutional relations between local and regional authorities from both continents, and promote alliance-building and synergies in EU–CELAC decentralised cooperation.
Territorial development
The Forum opened an important debate among local and regional authorities and other stakeholders on the state of decentralisation in Latin America and the Caribbean and the enabling environment for territorial development. The Caribbean was well represented at the meeting with Vernon Richards, Mayor of Montego Bay, Jamaica, addressing the meeting remotely from the front line of delivering hurricane relief to citizen in the wake of Mellissa, and Geraldine Lendor-Gabriel, Mayor of Castries, Saint Lucia, speaking on the panel on democracy and delivery.
High-level officials from CELAC (Government of Colombia) and the EU (European Commission) attended the Forum, participated in its debates, and formally received the Declaration from local authorities. The Forum’s Steering Group also confirmed its interest in organizing the next edition in Europe in 2027, in the framework of the next EU–CELAC Summit, to be held in Brussels.
The final declaration of the Forum can be found here : Cooperation and local development for prosperity: for a "EURO-territori-AL" initiative
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