Overview
Chile is the southernmost country in the world, stretching between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. It is a high-income economy but faces ongoing challenges like income inequality, increasing insecurity and the need to address climate change related impacts.
Chile and the European Union solidified their relationship in 2023, when Chile became the first South American country to sign a new-generation Advanced Framework Agreement with the EU. This agreement concretises pre-existing co-operation on human rights, climate change and the environment, ocean governance, energy, security, and defence. The trade component of the agreement entered into force in 2025.
Our partnership
Chile is a strategic partner of the EU in South America and the first country in the region with which the EU signed an Association Agreement. In December 2023, Chile and the European Union signed an Advanced Framework Agreement (AFA) that modernises the Association Agreement, which has been in effect since 2003.
Since Chile has been classified as a high-income country since 2012, cooperation with Chile is mainly carried out through global and regional thematic programmes. These are funded through the Neighbourhood, Development, and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe, covering the period 2021-2027. This tool allows for comprehensive and flexible cooperation with high-income countries. Through this intrument, Chile participates in EU global and regional programmes in areas such as governance and human rights, climate change, sustainable growth and jobs, digitalisation, science and technology, education, and culture.
The EU also supports Chile in shaping and implementing public policies through flagship programmes such as:
- Euroclima (climate action)
- EUROsociAL (social cohesion)
- EL PAcCTO (transnational organised crime)
- COPOLAD (anti-drug efforts)
- GLACY (cybercrime)
- EUROFRONT (border management)
Additionally, EU-Chile cooperation aligns with the EU’s Global Gateway strategy, which promotes smart, sustainable, and secure partnerships worldwide.
Our key initiatives
- Green Deal, sustainable growth and jobs
Team Europe and Chile cooperate closely on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and steering the region’s job growth towards green job sectors. Initiatives include:
- Boosting Renewable Hydrogen (RH2) through funding and technical cooperation
- Financing the Geothermal Development Instrument for Latin America
- Contributing to the self-consumption of renewable energy in SMEs
- Financing the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, with focus on Critical Raw Materials (CRM)
- Supporting Banco Estado’s ‘Ecohousing’ energy efficiency project
- Critical raw materials (CRM)
Team Europe supports Chile with the implementation of bilateral exchanges for sustainable CRM value chains.
- Digital
- Strengthening and improving the Copernicus data repository in Chile, to give it a regional outreach
- Supporting the country and the region in accessing earth observation tools and technology
- Funding the development of a Copernicus business accelerator and the creation of an interactive educational center
- Enhancing the cyber resilience of Latin American public authorities
- Stimulating the development of innovative technological solutions in the field of cybersecurity, and providing training and assistance
- Supporting digital connectivity in remote rural areas, and interoperability of public digital information systems
- Governance, social cohesion and human rights
The EU supports initiatives in Chile that protect and promote fundamental rights with a focus on vulnerable groups like women, indigenous peoples, migrants, and children. Together, Chile and the EU battle discrimination, gender-based violence, and inequality, while defending freedoms of expression and association. Chile and the EU work to enhance transparency, accountability and the rule of law by encouraging conversation between civil society groups and government institutions. This helps protect citizens’ human rights and equal treatment under the law.
Specific areas of cooperation include:
- Enhancing the capacity of Chilean civil society organisations that advocate for their local communities, promote participatory governance, and support grassroots initiatives
- Raising awareness around gender-based violence
- Strengthening access to justice, particularly in the case of juvenile criminal mediation
- Supporting a comprehensive national care policy
- Contributing greater transparency and accountability in the Chilean Congress and in civil society organisations
- Combatting transnational organised crime as part of an EU-Latin American and Caribbean partnership
- Backing Chile’s implementation of a new drug policy designed to reduce drug consumption in Chile
- Contributing to border security and fighting human trafficking and migrant smuggling
- Exchanging experience, tools, and good practices on cybercrime
- Strengthening climate change adaptation and mitigation with local authorities and civil society organisations
