Brussels, 05/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - This is the first major European initiative under Portuguese EU Presidency - on Wednesday 4 July in Lisbon, the European Union and Brazil sealed a new strategic partnership (see EUROPE 9460) at the very first summit ever organised between the two regions. The summit was attended by José Socrates, Portuguese Prime Minister, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil, and José Manuel Durão Barroso, President of the European Commission. Brazil thus joins Canada, China, the United States, India, Japan and Russia in the ranks of the European Union's strategic partners. The EU/Brazil strategic partnership covers many political and economic areas such as energy, employment, education, trade, the environment and dialogue with the civil society. It shows that the gap is now closing between views held by the two partners on the importance of multilateralism in international relations and on the need to tackle international challenges such as poverty, peace and security, the fight against organised transnational crime and terrorism. The EU and Brazil will be developing an action plan together to implement their strategic partnership with a view to the second summit that is to be held this time in Brazil. Without a shadow of a doubt, the trade negotiations of the Doha Trade Round will also be part of the discussions (see related article).
Speaking on Wednesday 4 July after the meeting, Mr Socrates said the “summit has allowed us to give concrete substance to one of the major priorities of our EU presidency: we have institutionalised a strategic alliance with Brazil”. “European foreign policy will be enriched, more coherent, more diverse. We have filled a gap and Brazil will help us to better regulate globalisation”, he added. The EU and Brazil share the same values and “support the United Nations organisation as the main instrument for defending peace and international security”, explained President Lula. “This agreement is for the long term (and) it reinforces relations with Mercosur and will help us to reach a good association agreement”, Mr Barroso said for his part.
In their joint statement, the European Union and Brazil agree it is necessary to “strengthen political dialogue at the highest level”. Both partners take the view that it is “of the greatest importance to strengthen relations between the EU and Mercosur” (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela) and to conclude the “association agreement” between the two partners, that has been deadlocked for several years due to persistent disagreement over the trade chapter. Such an association agreement would mainly play a determining role in regional integration. The previous day, Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, had given the Brazilian and Paraguayan parliaments three months in which to approve Venezuela's entry into Mercosur, an ultimatum that was received somewhat coldly by Brasilia.
The EU and Brazil welcomed the “sectoral political dialogues” being conducted in “maritime transport, science and technology, and the information society”, and hoped to improve the dialogue on “the environment and sustainable development”. On Thursday 5 July, the European Commission and Brazil signed terms of reference on their new regular energy policy dialogue. The EU and Brazil welcomed the extension of this political dialogue to new areas: “energy employment and social affairs, region al development, culture and education”. A new consultation mechanism will also be put in place on “sanitary and phytosanitary” policy. In addition, the two regional partners felt that the specific EU-Brazil agreement provided a good basis for extending existing relations on scientific cooperation and technology.
On climate change, the EU and Brazil expressed the desire to conclude an “ambitious agreement” to succeed the current Kyoto Protocol, an agreement which would include “encouragement for developing countries” to take verifiable measures. The outcomes of the G8 Heiligendamm Summit in June and the Bali Conference in December would play a crucial role in this.
The two partners agreed to “cooperate to ensure sustainable production, use and development of all forms of energy, including biofuels, and to promote renewable energy sources”. In Brussels on Thursday 5 July, there was an international biofuels conference, attended by those taking part in the EU-Brazil Summit (see related article).
The EU and Brazil highlighted the importance of enhancing cultural links between peoples and “civil society” exchanges. To this purpose, they will encourage cooperation between the European Economic and Social Committee and its Brazilian counterpart, and, with regard to higher education, agreed to increase university exchanges, particularly within the framework of the Community “Erasmus Mundus” programme. (mb)