• Proposes to prioritise its next research work in the areas of habitat-cities and the environment

• During their meeting in Bilbao, the experts agreed on the need to incorporate new actors into the relationship between the two geographical areas, without paternalism

The Advisory Committee of the Europe and the Global South project has concluded its day of debates in Bilbao, agreeing to commit to sub-state multilateralism that addresses issues of relevance to both geographical areas with the participation of different actors. This was made clear by the members of this international group, from Latin America, Africa and Europe, who came together for this initiative promoted by the eAtlantic Fundazioa Foundation, with the support of the Ford Foundation.

The participants began by addressing the current geopolitical situation and agreed on the need to introduce new actors and scenarios in the search for solutions, always based on a commitment to respect international rights and rules in a new relationship without paternalism between Europe—whose current difficulties were acknowledged—and the Global South. This group of new actors, always within a sub-state sphere, included, among others, regions, civil society organisations and the diaspora, thus moving towards a consensus broadly defined as sub-state multilateralism.

This ratified the essence of the Europe and the Global South project from a sub-state perspective, which aims to promote dialogue between actors in Europe and countries of the Global South. In fact, it seeks to ensure that these debates at local level can be projected to the state level and from there to the multilateral arena.