Brussels, 20/05/2005 (Agence Europe) - Last week in Strasbourg, Massimo D'Alema, President of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Mercosur, welcomed the creation of EUBRASIL, an association (of which he is the honorary president) that aims to support the development of fruitful business, political and cultural links between the European Union and Brazil. EUBRASIL, which was officially launched on 16 May in Sao Paolo on the occasion of a visit by the delegation chaired by Massimo D'Alema, is open to MEPs, academics, businesses and experts, a press release states. Its president, Luigi Gambardella, announces in a press release the creation of an EUBRASIL Business Roundtable and an Advisory Board composed of academics involved in research on the relations between the EU and Brazil.
According to the same press release, the president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, expresses confidence that EUBRASIL will “help open Europe to Brazilian companies and products, and also bring more investment and European technology to Brazil”. José Alfredo Graça Lima, Ambassador of Brazil to the EU, said the new association will allow dialogue to be strengthened between his country and the Union. Peter Mandelson, European Trade Commissioner, stressed the growing importance of a country like Brazil in a world where “the balance of economic power … is changing rapidly”. Viviane Reding, Commissioner for the Information Society, noted that “Brazil is a key player on Information Society issues in Latin America and the Caribbean region”.