Europe and Latin America & the Caribbean together in the Digital race

Back in July 2023, in the context of the EU-CELAC Summit in Brussels, 20 LAC countries and the 27 EU Member States agreed -in a Joint Declaration - that "digitalisation must first and foremost benefit people, not least by harnessing the potential of the data economy for sustainable development in the context of ongoing digital transformation. This approach should encourage investment while recognising the relevance of data as a tool for the socio-economic prosperity of developing nations."

What they committed to on paper is actually happening at fast pace. At the EU-LAC Digital Alliance Week hosted in Antigua, Guatemala, from 22 to 26 September, over 200 participants from both regions took stock of the Alliance's achievements and reaffirmed their commitment to drive the digital partnership forward.

The week, co-organised with key partners including AECID, the Digital for Development (D4D) Hub, the European Space Agency, ECLAC (UN Economic Commission for LAC) and the LAC Copernicus Centres, among others, started with a full day dedicated to Earth Observation and how data and services made available by the EU programme Copernicus can be used to prevent economic and societal risks arising from natural disasters, followed by the D4D Hub's Multi-stakeholder Forum.

The two next days were devoted to a series of high-level Policy Dialogues to review the progress and way forward of core areas of work: cybersecurity; meaningful connectivity, including satellite; e-Governance; AI and High-Performance Computing; and data governance. The outcome will be presented at the upcoming CELAC-EU Summit, taking place in Santa Marta -Colombia- on 9 & 10 November, 2025.

To close the Week, the Alliance launched the Latin American AI Index (ILIA) with ECLAC , ranking the level of AI development in the region; and held with AECID the side event "Connecting Futures: Digitalization and Education for an Inclusive Society in Latin America and the Caribbean".

The message, based on evidence for the Heads of State & Government is clear: the EU-LAC Digital Alliance delivers on its commitments.

European Union, 2025

The key to success

Since the work kicked off in the EU-LAC Digital Alliance Days in November 2023 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, the Alliance has developed up-tempo and made remarkable progress. To the initial 20 LAC countries, 4 additional ones have joined: Belize, Bolivia, Guyana and Grenada. The members have met in-person at 9 policy dialogues around key digital areas of mutual interest, preceded by multi-stakeholder consultations involving civil society and private sector.

The Alliance is EU-LAC co-owned: each area of work is co-led by a group of LAC and EU countries. It is based on shared interests: members have decided together which digital areas are relevant to them -infrastructure, security, governance and skills-.

United by BELLA

Implementing the Global Gateway Strategy, the Alliance has moved ahead with high-quality secure digital infrastructure. The subsea cable BELLA, connecting both continents from Portugal to Brazil, is expanding its terrestrial backbone to Peru and Central America. It will provide 20 Gbps operational capacity in these countries, meaning high-value connectivity for research, education and technological development.

So far, the BELLA cable has powered meaningful research and innovation projects across both sides of the Atlantic:

• Water Bioremediation: Application of Molecular Modelling in the BELLA II HPC Testbed

• Cybersecurity intelligence sharing: connecting Latin America and Europe to strengthen digital threat detection and response

• Underwater Seismic Monitoring: Real-Time Data Transmission from Madeira

• Academic Connectivity in Remote Areas of Northern Chile

• Real-Time International Surgical Collaboration: A Medical Case Enabled by BELLA

• Advanced Connectivity for High-Energy Physics: Scientific Cooperation between Latin America and the European Organization of Nuclear Research

Satellite connectivity will be deployed regionally in parallel to cables to reach remote, rural and insular areas. Spearheaded by a European satellite operator and backed by a Team Europe approach, the project brings together resources from the EU, Spain and other Member States to maximise impact and ensure sustainable results by extending reliable connectivity to underserved areas across the region.

Protected by Copernicus and cybersecurity

The LAC region -the Caribbean in particular- is one of the most impacted by climate change. Through the Copernicus Programme, i.e. the Earth Observation component of the EU Space Programme, the EU can make the difference to millions of people in the region affected by the threat of natural disasters. Authorities can use Copernicus data and services to monitor and help prevent droughts, floods, wildfires and other natural disasters. It can also be a useful tool in finding solutions to the sargassum seaweed plague which is hampering fisheries and tourism. The Copernicus LAC Centre in Panama (implemented by the European Space Agency and the Government of Panama) is providing capacity-building, stimulating entrepreneurship and developing geospatial services specific to the needs of the LAC region in the area of Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery. And the Copernicus LAC Regional Centre in Chile - implemented by the Universidad de Chile - was launched in 2023 and provides services focussed on the use of land, including urban areas, soon to be joined by a service of Coastal Monitoring. Both centres are meant to serve the whole LAC region ensuring resilience for regional data and services.

LAC is also one of the regions most exposed to cyber threats due to lack of secure digital infrastructure and cybersecurity frameworks. The Digital Alliance is working to set up the EU-LAC SHIELD, a structured, operational bi-regional network that will combine reactive incident response with preventive strategies through the mobilisation of European experts and technological solutions. Partners have also cooperated on cybersecurity through the joint development of the CARICOM's Cybercrime and Cybersecurity Action Plan and through studies on critical infrastructure in Central America led by Expertise France.

Digital solutions "Made in EU-LAC"

Meant to promote joint ventures for digital solutions for the industry, the EU-LAC Digital Acceleratorhas supported nearly 90 innovation partnerships between corporations and start-ups from both regions.

The EU-LAC Digital Accelerator community has grown to more than 300 corporations and 1,500 start-ups and SMEs, fostering transatlantic collaboration through open innovation and generating significant demand for joint solutions, with close to 400 digital challenges published since the program's launch. The selected joint ventures get financial support and tailored support services to accelerate the go-to-market level.

Trained for the Digital era

Having the most advanced and far-reaching digital technologies is useless if we do not have the workforce and the citizens able to use them. The Digital Alliance has deployed capacity building initiatives targeted to experts, policy makers, local authorities and educational and research institutions.

With the Digital Alliance support, a selected group of AI experts from LAC visited the venue of Supercomputers in Spain and Slovenia. Last June, a delegation from the EU and Caribbean countries interested in e-Governance visited Belgium and Estonia to explore opportunities on eIDs and interoperability. A similar study visit will be organised next October to France and Finland to exchange on secure and trusted connectivity and digital infrastructure. EU experts have also regularly travelled to LAC countries to provide expertise in key digital policy processes, such as on cybersecurity governance and critical infrastructure protection.

From Summer Schools to the publication of research studies, the aim is to build know-how in the LAC region and streamline regulatory frameworks across countries from both continents. Capacity building programs have been implemented, such as on the creation of Data Protection Authorities, Personal Data Protection for SMEs in Latin America, data protection in the health sector, ICT governance, digital citizen engagement, secure connectivity, and cybersecurity via the Cyber Competence Centre LAC4.

Because narrowing the Digital knowledge gap is also closing social divides, the Alliance has created the EU-LAC Network of Women Leaders in Digital. Its goal is to train Digital female experts to lift women in the professional ranking as well as ensure a gender-balanced angle in digital policies.

European Union, 2025

Next stop: the CELAC-EU Summit 2025

Digital is at the core of the EU-LAC partnership since the 2023 Summit. The 51 Digital Alliance country members will reaffirm their commitment at the upcoming CELAC-EU Summit 2025, taking place in Santa Marta, Colombia, the 9 & 10 November. The Digital Alliance will report on its work and will launch some key initiatives:

1. Regional Satellite Connectivity

2. The EU-LAC Supercomputing Network for AI

3. Partnership between Europe and the Caribbean on Weather Forecast and Climate Change Services

In a (Digital) world where divides seem growing, the EU and LAC are moving forward together in the Digital race. Two continents, one alliance, a shared digital future.

Want to know more?

The EU-LAC Digital Alliance, is an informal, values-based framework for cooperation, open to all LAC countries and EU Member States who may participate through their respective governments and agencies related to the digital agenda.

It is supported by Global Gateway, the EU's positive offer to reduce the worldwide investment disparity and boost smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems.

The Global Gateway strategy embodies a Team Europe approach that brings together the European Union, EU Member States and European development finance institutions. Together, it aims to mobilise up to €300 billion in public and private investments from 2021 to 2027 and create essential links rather than dependencies and close the global investment gap.

Background

The EU-LAC Digital Alliance Week brought together more than 200 representatives from 25 LAC countries, 10 EU Member States and 11 regional organisations, as well as representatives from the private sector, civil society, academia and the technical community:

• LAC governments (25): Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Saint Barthélemy, Sint Eustatius, Uruguay

• EU MS (10): Czechia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden

• EU Delegations (13): Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay

• Regional organisations (11): CTU, SICA, CAN, OECS, ITU, OECD, CAF, ECLAC, OAS, RedGealc, World Bank

• Civil Society (~9): Centro de Investigación para la Acción Femenina (CIPAF), Hiperderecho, Internet Society Colombia Chapter, Instituto Panamericano de Derecho y Tecnología (IPANDETEC), Wikimedia Foundation, AccessNow, Radically Open Security, TEDIC, Colnodo

• Private sector (~16): Tecnalia, Siembas de Origen, Emporium Partners, Hub de Innovación Minera del Perú, Hispasat, Numu, Zetes, Tim International Business Initiatives, GMV, Xcalibur, Nokia, SES, Capatec Panamá, ALETI, Grupo Eco Verde

• Tech cominity (~7): CENIA, RedClara, LAC4, CETIC, Fundación Carolina, Real Instituto Elcano, LACNIC

• Academia (2): Ciudad del Saber,OpenBeauchef

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