Caracas, November 4, 2014 (PL).- Designing a regional strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean stands out among priorities to assume a joint stand before the European Union, according to experts within the Economic System for Latin America and the Caribbean (SELA).

Representatives of SELA-member nations exchanged views yesterday about links with the EU and their immediate prospects.

According to an analysis presented in this capital, the summits between Latin America/Caribbean and the EU have been putting forward an agenda that has paved the way to a strategic partnership between the two regions. However, the region needs to express itself with a single voice when needed and improve its achievements while dealing with the EU.

Participants in the meeting also referred to the prospect of opening a macroeconomic dialogue between the Latin American and Caribbean states (CLACS) and the European mechanism as it would allow Latin American countries to benefit from the weight of the 28-member EU against third parties to make a truly regional voice be heard on the issue of the international financial architecture.

Recommendations and steps to be taken were also presented to enrich the Latin American and Caribbean agenda in preparation for the upcoming Summit between the two regions.

Since 2005, the Permanent Secretariat of SELA has been following closely and discussing the issue through reports on the progress and obstacles that characterize the relations between the two blocs.

From their first biregional meeting in Rio de Janeiro in 1999 until the latest summit held in Santiago de Chile in January, 2013, the summits between Latin America and the Caribbean and the EU have become a key element in the political and economic strategies in both regions.