Foreign Affairs Committee MEPs conclude visit to Mexico and Costa Rica

A delegation of MEPs visited Mexico and Costa Rica from 31 October to 2 November to discuss cooperation and strengthening the EU’s partnership with both countries.

In Mexico City, the Foreign Affairs Committee delegation met with parliamentary counterparts, officials as well as government and civil society representatives for talks on joint efforts to boost the EU-Mexico Strategic Partnership and ongoing work to conclude the modernised Global Agreement between the EU and Mexico. MEPs stressed that the latter must be finalised and submitted to the European Parliament and the Mexican Congress for ratification as soon as possible, ideally before the end of the year and in any case ahead of the start of the electoral campaigns in Mexico and the EU in June 2024. The new agreement seeks to reinforce EU-Mexico cooperation in several areas of crucial importance, including the environment, security field, fighting organised crime and corruption and upholding human rights. Discussions also centred on geopolitical challenges, such as the despicable terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel on 7 October 2023, the subsequent Israeli military response and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the security and migration crises, as well as EU-Latin America parliamentary cooperation and human rights issues. While in Mexico City, MEPs met with Foreign Affairs Minister Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, Members of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies, including Alfredo Femat Bañuelos, Manuel Guillermo Chapman Moreno, Augusto Gómez Villanueva, Mariana Gómez del Campo Gurza, Eduardo Enrique Murat Hinojosa, as well as Senator Beatriz Paredes Rangel.

MEPs recognise Costa Rica’s role as a truly like-minded EU partner

In Costa Rica’s capital San José, MEPs met with government officials and parliamentarians, including First Vice-President Stephan Brunner, acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs Alejandro Solano Ortiz, President of Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly Rodrigo Arias Sánchez and Luis Fernando Mendoza, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Commission of Costa Rica. MEPs recognised Costa Rica’s valuable role as a truly like-minded partner, one that shares the same values and firm commitment to reinforcing multilateralism. On ongoing global tensions, such as Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, MEPs expressed their appreciation for the Costa Rican government’s constant support to Kyiv in international fora. They also discussed Costa Rica’s regional role in Central America, the EU’s Global Gateway initiative, parliamentary ties, the fight against climate change and migration challenges, with Costa Rica being one of the top four countries globally for individual asylum-seeker registrations.

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Concluding, the Chair of the delegation, David McAllister (EPP, Germany) said: “Our visit to Mexico and Costa Rica took place against the backdrop of increasing geopolitical instability. In our meetings with Mexican authorities, we signalled the EU’s willingness to strengthen our strategic partnership and work closely with Mexico both bilaterally and in regional and multilateral fora. We noted that the “window of opportunity” is closing for the finalisation – and ratification by Parliament and the Mexican Congress – of a modernised EU-Mexico Global Agreement before elections on both sides, and highlighted the European Parliament’s commitment to helping find a solution to wrap up the process. In Costa Rica, we underlined how much the European Parliament values the EU-Costa Rica partnership, particularly in these challenging times. Costa Rica is a key partner for the EU in Central America and we appreciate Costa Rica’s commitment to reinforcing multilateralism and the country’s very active role in multilateral fora. We also expressed our hope that the 2013 EU-Central American Association Agreement will be ratified by all EU member states as soon as possible.”