EU holds first Summit with Brazil - Main contents
The EU, represented by the President of the Commission José Manuel Durao Barroso i and Portuguese Prime Minister José Socrates, and Brazil, represented by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, will meet in their first ever Summit in Lisbon on 4 July 2007 to launch Strategic Partnership. The Summit will be for the EU the occasion to engage with Brazil in a broader dialogue on global, regional and bilateral issues of common strategic interest and to discuss how to build up the Strategic Partnership, on the basis of the Commission's proposal of 30 May 2007. Commissioners for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Trade Peter Mandelson, the Secretary General of the Council Javier Solana, Portuguese Minister for Foreign Affairs Luis Filipe Marques Amado and Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs Celso Luiz Amorim will also participate.
President Barroso said: "This first Summit is a historic step in our relations with Brazil. The strategic partnership is about facing each other as global partners and to raise the level of our co-operation in a host of areas of common interests. By increasing our joint efforts with Brazil, we can make a difference in global debates on poverty or climate change."
Commissioner Ferrero Waldner said: "This is a milestone, the culmination of a long-standing relationship which we have carefully built over many years. We embark on the strategic partnership with a solid foundation - prosperous trade relations, a dynamic set of sector policy dialogues and an effective co-operation on environment and educational issues. This new chapter in our relationship will allow us to unlock its full potential for the benefit of the European and Brazilian people.â€
The Strategic Partnership should reinforce the co-operation and partnership with Brazil in a wide range of areas, including strengthening multilateralism to work jointly on a more effective UN system and promoting human rights. In its proposal of 30 th May 2007 [1], the Commission encouraged to co-operate closely on global challenges such as tackling poverty and inequality, environmental issues (particularly climate change, forests, water management and biodiversity), sustainable energy resources, enhancing stability and prosperity in Latin America and co-operation on regional integration with Mercosur.
The Summit should also offer an occasion to express a joint determination to conclude the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement.
Significantly, the European and Brazilian business community will hold the first EU-Brazil Business Round Table bringing together business leaders from both sides of the Atlantic.
President Lula's first visit to the Commission in Brussels on 5 July, right after the Summit, and his participation in the International Conference on Bio-fuels, organised by the Commission, will consolidate the beginning of a new era in the EU-Brazil relations.
For more information:
http://ec.europa.eu/external_relations/brazil/intro/index.htm
[1] Communication "Towards an EU-Brazil Strategic Partnershipâ€m 30 May 2007