Brussels, 03/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Portuguese prime minister and president of the European Council, José Socrates and the Brazilian president, Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva will lead work on Wednesday in Lisbon on the first EU/Brazil summit, which will also form part of the first EU/Brazil affairs summit. The Lisbon summit will provide an opportunity for the different parties to engage in broader political dialogue focusing on global, regional and bilateral questions of common interest through a strategic partnership based on a European Commission proposal (EUROPE 9436). They are also expected to reaffirm their commitment to the conclusion of trade negotiations that are currently blocked at a multilateral level (Doha Round) and at a bilateral level (EU/Mercosur negotiations).
The Lisbon summit is expected to give the green light to launching a strategic partnership between the Union and Brazil, initially based on enhanced political dialogue. Europeans and Brazilians especially want to work together to strengthen multilateralism, improve the UN system and promote human rights. In compliance with the Commission's proposal, the two sides are expected to, “agree on the need to identify and promote common strategies to tackle global challenges, including peace and security issues, democracy and human rights”, fight poverty, inequality and exclusion, as well as tackle environmental issues (climate change, forest protection, water management and biodiversity) and promote renewable energies - and regional - stability and prosperity in Latin America, reinforcement of the bioregional EU/Latin America process and regional integration cooperation with Mercosur.
The strategic partnership is also based on strengthened sector-specific political dialogue. Europeans and Brazilians are above all expected to welcome progress made in open dialogue in the fields of maritime transport, science and technology and the information society. They should also agree to launch further strategic dialogue on energy, employment and social affairs, regional development, culture and education and a consultation mechanism in the field of sanitary and phytosanitary matters. Furthermore, the parties concerned are also expected to welcome the entry into force of the EU/Brazil cooperation agreement in the field of science and technology.
Europeans and Brazilians are, moreover, likely to stress the importance of stimulating contacts between civil societies and exchanges between the different peoples within the framework of this partnership.
They trust that, by closing the gap between the Union and Brazil, they will facilitate trade talks - both multilateral and bi-regional - which are currently faring badly.
The meeting scheduled for Wednesday evening at a dinner to be attended by Mr Socrates and the French, Italian and Spanish heads of state or government - namely Nicolas Sarkozy, Romano Prodi and José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero respectively - will provide an ideal opportunity for President Lula and his European counterparts to overcome their differences concerning the Doha Round multilateral trade talks, Celso Amorim, Brazil's Foreign Minister, said this week. Although he had earlier slammed the door at the G-4 meeting in Potsdam (EU, United States, Brazil and India), he will be meeting with Peter Mandelson, EU Trade Commissioner, on the sidelines of the summit. In their joint declaration, European and Brazilian leaders “share the belief that further liberalisation of trade and fostering of investment flows will promote economic growth and prosperity for their people”.
They are expected, too, to confirm their “strong commitment to conclude promptly the WTO Doha Development Round” through an “ambitious, comprehensive and balanced agreement that fulfils the development objectives of the Round and significantly fosters trade flows in agriculture, industrial goods and services among and between the developed and developing countries, as well as promotes effective trade rules”. A diplomatic source has indicated, however, that Brasilia would prefer the final declaration to mention less than proportional effort on the part of developing countries, of which Brazil is one.
The Summit is likely, too, to provide the opportunity for the parties to assess the conditions in which to restart negotiations on a free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil-, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela) bogged down since the failure in Lisbon in 2004 (see EUROPE 9456). “Bilaterally, we can offer things that could not be offered in a multilateral framework,” Mr Amorim said this week, stressing that resumption would be difficult without Europe opening up more on agriculture. In their declaration, the EU and Brazil are likely to say they are “strongly committed to concluding the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement, which will further deepen region-to-region trade and investment flows”.
European and Brazilian leaders are expected to highlight their intention to set up a macroeconomic and financial dialogue. (eh)