EU-CELAC Summit Struggles for Relevance Amid Low Turnout, US Tensions

The two-day summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union has “come into question” before it even officially opened, plagued by a low turnout of high-level leaders and overwhelming regional tensions. The absence of top officials, most notably European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has cast a serious shadow over the event, sparking concerns about the strength of the inter-regional partnership.
Colombia’s Foreign Ministry has attempted to deflect these concerns, attributing the poor attendance to “scheduling conflicts” with a major United Nations climate summit. They have instead tried to highlight the leaders who are present, such as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and, in a last-minute addition, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. However, the empty chairs are hard to ignore and detract from the summit’s intended prestige.
This crisis of relevance is unfolding against the backdrop of a severe geopolitical dispute. A deadly US military operation, which has killed over 60 people on alleged drug vessels, is the top concern for many attendees. The summit’s host, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, is a primary critic, calling the deaths “extrajudicial executions” and confirming Colombian casualties. This guarantees the US operation will be a central, and heated, topic of debate.
Lula’s attendance, while a diplomatic win for Colombia, also serves to highlight the focus on security over the official economic agenda. The Brazilian government has framed his visit as an act of solidarity with Venezuela against threats from US President Donald Trump. This aligns with Petro’s criticism and further cements the summit as a referendum on US military actions in the hemisphere.
While the formal goal is to sign the “Declaration of Santa Marta” on renewable energy and food security, the combination of low European turnout and high regional tension makes this a difficult task. The event in Santa Marta is now less about strengthening EU-CELAC ties and more about Latin America finding a unified voice in a time of crisis.