Top European Union officials are skipping a high-level summit with Latin American and Caribbean nations, with “scheduling conflicts” being cited as the official reason. Colombia’s Foreign Ministry attributed the absences of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to an overlap with a United Nations climate summit. This explanation is intended to downplay concerns about the meeting’s relevance and the strength of the EU-CELAC partnership.
However, this diplomatic setback comes at a moment of intense regional volatility. The summit host, Colombian President Gustavo Petro, is a vocal critic of a deadly US military operation that has claimed over 60 lives. Petro has branded the deaths from these strikes on alleged drug vessels as “extrajudicial executions” and confirmed that Colombian citizens are among the dead and survivors, setting a tense backdrop for any diplomatic discussions.
To counter the narrative of a diplomatic snub, Colombian officials are heavily promoting the attendance of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Lula’s participation, announced at the last minute, is a significant boost for the summit, though his motivations appear to diverge from the official agenda. The Brazilian government has linked his visit to showing “regional solidarity with Venezuela.”
This focus on Venezuela introduces another US-related conflict. Brazilian diplomats have indicated that US President Donald Trump’s threats of military action against Venezuela, alongside the deadly boat strikes, will be a “natural topic” of discussion. Lula himself recently revealed he had urged Trump in a private meeting to seek peace in Venezuela, reinforcing that “Latin America is a region of peace.”
Therefore, whether the European absences are a genuine scheduling issue or a quiet snub, the effect is the same. The planned discussions for the “Declaration of Santa Marta” on food security and renewable energy are being eclipsed. The leaders who are present, particularly from Latin America, seem intent on using the forum to build a unified front against US military actions in their hemisphere.