The second phase of EUROsociAL has been implemented between 2011 and 2015, and in the next months the European Commission will launch a new phase; so, it is the right time for an exercise of balance, accountability and looking towards the future. Following the EU-CELAC Summit 2015, this Meeting comes to deepen the political dialogue on common challenges that the societies of both regions face. The event will gather around 250 high level institutional and political representatives from Latin American and Europe, involved in the programme. It is articulated around plenary sessions and 5 regional seminars / workshops from a cross-cutting perspective.

The event brings together 150 senior officials and representatives of institutions from Latin America and Europe involved in the programme. High ranking officials of Latin America include Olga Marta Sánchez, Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy of Costa Rica, Human Rights and Religion of Ecuador, Héctor Cárdenas, Minister of Social Action of Paraguay; and Thelma Esperanza Aldana, Attorney General of the Republic of Guatemala. The European Union and European Member States representatives will also be present. The opening dialogue gathers together prominent figures of Europe and Latin America, such as Benita Ferrero-Waldner, current president of the EU-LAC Foundation, and Luis Alberto Lacalle, former president of Uruguay (1990-1995).

The meeting is attended by the Programme stakeholders and is divided into two parts: one general part, in plenary sessions (inauguration and closure); and another themed part that comprises, in concomitance, the five themed regional seminars and workshops organised by the main macro-areas of EUROsociAL, from an intersectoral perspective. They coincide in time and space to organise a shared reflection and to make the most of the potential and coincidences in Programme data. Special emphasis in the discussion is given to promoting equality between women and men, making gender focus an essential component of social cohesion.