The President of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, received the President of the European Council, António Costa, in Guatemala City today, 20 May 2026, for the first official visit to the country by a President of the European Council.
The two leaders highlighted the strengthening of relations between Guatemala and the European Union, especially in terms of political cooperation, trade and investment, via the European ‘Global Gateway’ strategy in particular. They also reaffirmed shared values such as democracy, the rule of law, human rights and multilateralism.
President Arévalo thanked Europe for its support for institutional strengthening, transparency and the fight against corruption, while President Costa reiterated the EU’s support for Guatemalan democracy and acknowledged the progress the government had made in priority action areas.
Both leaders also highlighted the role the European Union has played in the country’s democratic processes, including the electoral observation of the 2023 elections and the ad-hoc mission to accompany the processes for selecting and appointing judges of the Supreme Electoral Court, the Constitutional Court, the Attorney General and the Head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office for 2026. During the visit President Costa also delivered the preliminary report containing recommendations from the ad-hoc accompanying mission.
As regards regional and international matters, the Presidents agreed on the importance of strengthening dialogue between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as security cooperation in tackling organised crime and illegal migration, stressing the importance of European programmes such as CLASI, PAcCTO and EUROFRONT.
They also restated their commitment to the Association Agreement between Central America and the EU, noting that trade between Guatemala and the EU has doubled since it entered into force.
Finally, they both expressed their deep concern at the negative impact of the growing number of armed conflicts in the world, including the war against Ukraine, and expressed their support for every possible effort to achieve a ceasefire and a fair and lasting peace in accordance with international law.
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