Brussels, 21/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - As well as trade issues, the agenda of the seventh EU-Brazil bilateral summit will also be dominated by industry cooperation on science and technology, cyber-security and internet governance.
On Monday 24 February, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso will host Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff and Minister for Foreign Affairs Luiz Alberto Figueiredo in Brussels for the seventh EU-Brazil summit since the adoption of their strategic partnership in July 2007.
The chapter on trade relations between the two closely-linked economies (the EU is Brazil's top trading partner, and Brazil is the EU's eighth biggest trading partner) occupies a large place on the summit agenda. EU and Brazilian leaders will address the issue of tax incentives granted by Brasilia to its national industry - an issue that the EU has criticised at the WTO. Indeed, in December 2013 the European Commission called for consultations with the Brazilian government regarding the selective tax exemptions or reductions that were granted by Brasilia and which, in the Commission's view, discriminate against imported products and provide aid to Brazilian exporters that is forbidden under WTO rules (see EUROPE 10988). Rousseff spoke last week of her intention to defend the Manaus free-trade zone and the tax incentives for the electronic equipment used by Brazil to supply the Amazon region with alternative economic means to exploitation of the forest.
Also on the trade chapter, the leaders will assess the progress of negotiations for an association agreement between the EU and Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela), which includes a free-trade agreement. The leaders are expected to renew their support for the process. Figueiredo has said this week that the two parties are “very close” to an exchange of offers on market access for agricultural and industrial products. EU and South American negotiators have had a dozen or so sessions of technical discussions since the start of negotiations in 2010, but the exchange of offers was upset in 2013 both by trade tension between the EU and Argentina, and by Paraguay's temporary suspension from Mercosur. As well as tariff liberalisation, the talks will cover non-tariff barriers, services, investment and public procurement. After several postponements and then a technical meeting in mid-February, the Mercosur countries have planned to meet again in early March to finalise their offer. While Brazil and Uruguay are in a hurry to come to an agreement with the EU - particularly to compensate for the loss of trade preferences stemming from the new GSP system that entered into force at the start of 2014 - Argentina, whose economy is in serious difficulty, is less keen. The European side is still waiting for Mercosur to reach agreement on an ambitious offer.
The summit agenda also reserves an important place for the assessment of progress in sectoral cooperation on competitiveness and investment (action plan), science and technology (Science without Borders programme and Brazil's participation in the EU's Horizon 2020 programme), ICT (cloud computing), transport and telecommunications infrastructure (a consortium project for an optic fibre cable across the Atlantic) and energy (gas, renewable energy and offshore activity).
On the international issues chapter, the leaders will discuss global challenges - including the world economic situation, the G20 process, climate change, policies on energy and on sustainable development, and the WTO Doha round. They will also discuss cyber-security and internet governance - a topic that is dear to both the EU and Brazil (whose president was also the target of the US espionage uncovered in the Snowden affair). Brazil will host an international conference on this in April. “Cyberspace, which has become one of the most powerful instruments for global progress, is an area where we need to intensify cooperation”, said Van Rompuy ahead of the summit.
Lastly, the EU and Brazilian parties will hold an exchange of views on regional security issues in Latin America and the worrying situation in Venezuela. They will also discuss international peace and security issues - such as the situations in Iran and in Syria, the Middle East peace process and security in Africa. (EH/transl.fl)