1. We, the leaders of the European Union and the United Mexican States, met today in Brussels and agreed to foster a closer and stronger Strategic Partnership with the purpose of bringing more common prosperity and wellbeing to our 626 million citizens, and strengthening our cooperation to share global responsibility on regional and global issues of common concern.

2. We recognised that our strong likeminded partnership is based on the shared values of democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law, fundamental freedoms, social dialogue, as well as of open markets, rules based international systems and international peace and security. These values and principles are the result of our common cultural heritage and the robust historical, political and economic ties which unite us.

3. We focused our discussions on two key areas of cooperation that are of vital interest to our citizens:

• First, we reaffirmed our willingness to launch, in 2015, the process of starting negotiations, according to the legal framework of each side to modernise our Global Agreement and to reinforce our Strategic Partnership.
• Second, to shoulder a broader global responsibility and to strengthen our political dialogue on relevant global and regional issues of common concern, such as climate change and environment, the post-2015 sustainable development agenda, security and peace-keeping operations, the world drug problem and the fight against transnational organised crime, as well as migration.

A Strategic Partnership for our common prosperity

4. We thus endeavour to reinforce the potential of our Strategic Partnership, underlined that our main bilateral priority in the short term is to launch, in 2015, the process of beginning negotiations to upgrade our bilateral legal framework, and decided to move forward, towards enhanced political dialogue, deeper cooperation and strengthened trade and investments flows to boost our common prosperity.

5. In doing so, we aim to further our economic integration; adapt our bilateral framework to the new realities of global trade and investment flows; seek closer political dialogue and coordination on issues of mutual interest, and strengthen and deepen our cooperation, bilaterally as well as towards other partner countries.

6. In the economic field, we recognised the vital connection between our two economies as well as the great potential to expand our investments and our trade in goods and services, currently reaching more than a billion euros a week. We aim to create the most ambitious and comprehensive framework for bilateral trade and investment possible.

7. We believe that competitiveness, innovation and economic growth cannot be achieved without strong cooperation on Science and Technology. We welcomed the progress achieved at the June 2013 and October 2014 Joint Steering Committee meeting in Mexico City, especially with regard to stepping up research cooperation in key areas such as health, renewable energy – particularly with regard to the planned coordinated call on geothermal energy –, as well as information and communication technologies (ICT). We also welcomed the progress made in the preparatory work towards an implementing

arrangement between the European Commission and the Mexican National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT) which will aim to facilitate the visits of Mexican researchers to teams of Principal Researchers funded under the European Research Council, recognising the importance of promoting the development of scientific cooperation programmes.

8. We highlighted the possibilities of expanding bilateral cooperation in research and development, especially in renewable energy and joint initiatives on energy efficiency. All safe and sustainable low carbon technologies, in particular renewable energy, play a crucial role in expanding access to energy, promoting local development in a sustainable manner, and helping to reduce poverty. In this regard, we stressed the importance of our support to global efforts to promote renewable energy sources. Regarding the need to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in the transportation sector, we reiterated the importance of developing viable alternatives to fossil fuels.

9. Being aware of the important contribution of mobility and migration to the economic and social development of our societies, we will continue working to promote the internationalisation of higher education, as well as transparency and comparability tools to facilitate mobility and academic cooperation between Mexico and the EU. We welcome the participation of Mexico in the new Erasmus+ Programme and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.

10. Taking into account evolving global challenges and trends in the medium and long term, we consider that the EU and Mexico should reinforce and expand cooperation on the following strategic challenges: international migration; illicit drugs and transnational organised crime; health; education and capacity building; energy security, energy, including renewable energies; enterprise and industry, including SMEs; economic growth and competitiveness; transport; disaster management; employment and social issues; digital agenda; research and innovation; social cohesion; and international development cooperation policy.

11. We reviewed the existing solid bilateral dialogues and reflected on key focus areas for the partnership in the next years. We agreed that the sectoral dialogues are very useful tools to strengthen the bilateral relationship in specific policy areas, and that they should be spaces for the exchange of information and good practices, as well as to explore the possibility of concrete cooperation opportunities through the appropriate channels.

12. We welcomed the launching of the High-Level Political Dialogue held in January 2014 and the successful Macroeconomic Dialogue in July 2014. We endorsed the ambitious results of the 4th and 5th High-Level Dialogue on Human Rights held in March 2014 in Brussels and in April 2015 in Mexico, including through reinforcement of common positions in international fora. They covered major issues of common concern on human rights, the Rule of Law and citizen security, among others. We also recognised the important role played by civil society organisations from the EU and Mexico through their recommendations decided upon at the civil society seminars.

13. We welcomed the outcome of the 5th High-Level Dialogues on Climate Change and the 6th Dialogue on Environment held in Mexico City on 22 and 23 April 2015, which showed the high degree of convergence of our views on the preparations of the UN FCCC Conference on Climate Change in Paris in December 2015 and on environmental matters.

14. We also agreed on the organisation of the High-Level Dialogue on Higher Education in Mexico in September 2015, and of the High-Level Dialogue on Security and Justice in December 2015. We welcomed the intention to launch new policy dialogues on regional development policy as well as on employment and social affairs.

15. We welcomed the results of the third meeting of the EU-Mexico Joint Follow-up Group on Drug Precursors held in May 2015 in Mexico City, that reiterated the importance of regional cooperation with other Latin American countries and in the EU-CELAC context.

16. We hailed the parliamentary exchanges, such as the 18th Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting held in February 2015 in Mexico, and look forward to further civil society exchanges.

17. We agreed on the importance of discussing the issue of Passenger Name Records as a matter of priority. In this context, the EC has requested a mandate for negotiating a bilateral agreement with Mexico from the Council. Shared global responsibility: cooperating on regional and global issues of common concern

18. We are convinced that an upgraded Strategic Partnership should reflect the new realities of both partners: their growing weight as global actors in the international system, the recent global geopolitical shifts, and the increasing role of emerging market economies. We thus endeavour to reinforce the potential of our Strategic Partnership to reflect the high level of convergence we have achieved on global and regional issues. In this regard, we agreed to strengthen our political dialogue in order to coincide further on the global agenda and on our positions in international fora. We reiterated the importance of a strong and effective multilateral system, based upon international law in tackling the many challenges that we face together.

19. We recognised the importance of anti-drugs policies in all their aspects (including supply and demand reduction, from combating drugs traffic and linked transnational organized crime, to addressing social and public health issues) and will maintain our coordination in view of UNGASS 2016 on the World Drug Problem. We reaffirmed our commitment to continue our cooperation on these matters uner the regional EU-CELAC Drugs Dialogue.

20. We are deeply concerned by the loss of life of migrants trying to reach a better life, as illustrated by recent tragic events in the Mediterranean. We reconfirm our commitment to undertake action to avoid such tragedies in future, including by preventing and clamping down on migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, by disrupting the criminal networks involved in this trade who exploit vulnerable migrants, by protecting the victims of such activities, as well as by adopting an integral approach to migration policies and measures consistent with international human rights standards and human dignity. We further discussed on the importance of migration as a global and regional phenomenon that demands comprehensive policies to fully harness the economic development, cultural and social opportunities it represents and to efficiently address its challenges, with full respect to the human rights of the migrant person, taking into account the origin, transit and destiny of migration. In this regard, we agreed to cooperate and deepen our exchanges of best practices and experiences, in close partnership with other countries and the international organisations, in particular in the framework of the UN.

21. On climate change, our priority for the December UNFCCC COP 21 in Paris is to adopt an ambitious legally binding agreement, and capable of delivering the objective of limiting the temperature rise to below 2°C or 1.5°C and shifting towards a low-carbon and resilient society before the end of the century. The Agreement should include adequate provisions on the transparency and accountability of all Parties towards their commitments. While delivering on the ultimate objective of the Convention, it should also address adaptation to climate change impacts and help mobilise adequate means of implementation, in particular climate finance, to allow the required transformation to happen at scale. It should also support countries to act according to new IPCC scientific findings that can help reduce the effects of climate change, such as lowering short-live climate pollutants, and spur international cooperation to help Parties deliver on their commitment.

22. Aware of our global responsibility, we have come forward early, and presented our respective Intended National Determined Contributions (INDCs) by the first quarter of 2015, underpinned by strong national climate change policy measures. We share strong views to a low emissions pathway and the importance of decoupling carbon emissions from economic growth. In this regard, we welcome the launching of the first project to promote low carbon technologies and foster cooperation between Mexican and European companies in this area, under the Partnership Instrument. We will strive to build a climate change regime based on the agreed principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in light of different national circumstances. We recognise the example set by Mexico regarding the unconditional component of its INDC. We invite other countries, especially major emitters, to follow our path and come forward as soon as possible with ambitious INDCs, in order to strengthen ongoing negotiations under the UNFCCC towards securing an ambitious result at the Paris COP.

23. On the environment, we agreed to strengthen our cooperation in relevant multilateral environmental agreements, and in particular in the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in the run up to the 13th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CBD COP 13), the 8th meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol (COP-MOP 8), and the 2^nd meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (COP-MOP 2) to be hosted by Mexico on 4-16 December 2016. Biodiversity – the variety of life on the planet – is essential for our economy and wellbeing, and is our life insurance and our natural capital. It is fundamental for global sustainable development; thus, mainstreaming biodiversity in many productive activities, in particular in the agricultural (including livestock), forest, fisheries, and tourist sectors, is fundamental to ensure its long-term sustainable management, considering also access to innovation and means to assure poverty alleviation. Therefore, we committed to working jointly to ensure successful and ambitious outcomes of CBD COP 13 and support Mexico’s role as host of COP-MOP 2 and COP-MOP 8.

24. We welcomed the ongoing process leading to the UN Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2015 and agreed that the MDG review and Rio+20 follow up need to be coherent and converge in an overarching framework. The post-2015 framework should be ambitious, comprehensive and global in its aspirations and have poverty eradication and sustainable development at its core. Many of the new goals address key global challenges, such as halting the loss of biodiversity and restoring ecosystems, which have broader implications for society and the economy at large. We reaffirmed the importance of implementing goals and targets at all levels. The SDGs should become internal and international reference standards on all aspects of sustainable development.

25. On international development cooperation, we reaffirmed our commitment to collaboration and coordinated action, recognising that our goals and objectives are aligned as never before. We expressed our willingness to work together to strengthen the effectiveness of international development cooperation, and to support the international community in promoting a global partnership for development.

26. We will also step up our commitment to humanitarian aid, based on identified needs and in line with humanitarian principles.

27. The Summit was also an opportunity to strengthen our international cooperation in civil justice matters, in the framework of the Hague Conference. In this context, we look forward to the imminent entry into force of the Choice of Court Convention after its ratification by the EU and Mexico.

28. We are determined to advance cooperation between the European Union and Mexico on international peace and security matters. We welcomed Mexico’s resumed participation in UN peace-keeping operations, in the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). We instructed the political dialogue to further explore complementarities and areas of cooperation.

Cooperating closer on regional issues

29. We also reiterate our interest in strengthening regional cooperation on issues of common interest in our respective neighbourhoods. As actors with global responsibility, we expressed our commitment to promote stability, peace, security, and development.

30. We continue to be extremely concerned by the deteriorating situation in Syria, which makes it all the more urgent to put an end to all violence and suffering of the Syrian population, and to find a political solution that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people. Furthermore, we expressed our support for the ongoing negotiations between Iran and E3+3 to reach a mutually agreed long-term comprehensive solution on Iran’s nuclear programme.

31. We exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine and called on all sides to implement their commitments under the Minsk agreements to solve the conflict in the country peacefully, respecting Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262.

32. We welcomed the successful outcome of the EU-CELAC Summit held in Brussels on 10/11 June 2015 and agreed on the importance of promoting and implementing its results. We recognised the need for the intensification of the dialogue between the EU and CELAC. We also welcomed the EU-CELAC Business Summit held in Brussels on 10 June and look forward to appropriate follow-up on its conclusions by the EU and Latin American/Caribbean business communities and other relevant stakeholders.

33. We welcomed the recent rapprochement between the United States and Cuba, as well as the progress made in negotiating a Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Cuba. We expressed our support for the successful conclusion of the negotiations between Colombia and FARC. We agreed to join our forces to support development in Central America and the Caribbean, in particular on mitigating climate change, promoting sustainable energy and improving citizen security.

34. 2015 marks 55 years since the beginning of our diplomatic relations. Today, we noted with satisfaction the broad and dynamic agenda and synergies that unite us, on the complementarity of our efforts, and on this new stage of deeper relations that will create concrete and tangible benefits for our societies.