8 An EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership
| (28683)
10323/07
COM(07) 281
| Commission Communication: Towards an EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership
|
| Legal base | — |
| Document originated | 30 May 2007
|
| Deposited in Parliament | 8 June 2007
|
| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
|
| Basis of consideration | EM of 25 June 2007
|
| Previous Committee Report | None, but see (27132) —: HC 34-xx (2005-06), para 16 (1 March 2006)
|
| To be discussed in Council | To be determined
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Cleared, but further information requested
|
Background
8.1 The Commission notes that its Communication "A stronger
partnership between the EU and Latin America" COM(2005) 636
set the ground for a stronger partnership with the Latin America
region (which we considered on 1 March 2006).[26]
8.2 In the introduction to this present Communication,
the Commission says that "over the last years, Brazil has
become an increasingly significant global player and emerged as
a key interlocutor for the EU". But until recently EU-Brazil
dialogue has been carried out mainly through the EU-Mercosur[27]
dialogue. Brazil will be the last of the BRICs[28]
to meet the EU in a Summit, which will take place in Lisbon on
4 July 2007, and "will mark a turning point in EU-Brazil
relations".
The Commission Communication
8.3 The Commission says that EU-Brazil relations
demand a global, coherent and coordinated framework because "its
emerging economic and political role brings new responsibilities
for Brazil as a global leader. The proposed strategic partnership
between Brazil and EU should help Brazil in exercising positive
leadership globally and regionally and to engage with the EU in
a global, strategic, substantial and open dialogue both bilaterally
and in multilateral and regional fora", where, over the last
few years, "Brazil has emerged as a champion of the developing
world in the UN and at the WTO".
8.4 Furthermore, "the EU and Brazil share core
values and interests, including respect for the rule of law and
human rights, concern about climate change and the pursuit of
economic growth and social justice at home and abroad. Brazil
is a vital ally for the EU in addressing these and other challenges
in international fora".
8.5 Brazil's demographic weight and economic development
also make it a natural leader in South America and a key player
in Latin America: "Brazil is now actively pursuing this role
in the Mercosur framework and is at the forefront of the drive
to promote the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR)."[29]
The EU-Mercosur negotiations — "an EU priority strategic
objective" — have not come to a conclusion due to lack
of progress in the trade chapter; the positive leadership of Brazil
could move the negotiations forward.
8.6 Commercially, Brazil is a major EU investment
hub in Latin America and
a market that will offer major additional openings for EU business,
"once negotiations in the WTO Doha Development Agenda (DDA)
and with Mercosur are completed and trade barriers have been further
reduced". Although its growth rates are not comparable with
China or India, "Brazil has huge natural resources, renowned
scientific and academic excellence, broad industrial diversity
and a vast internal market".
8.7 The Commission notes that "Brazil still
has challenges to address: acute income inequalities remain a
real handicap and are one of the Government's main targets for
action, particularly through its 'Bolsa Familia' programme and
a key area for cooperation and dialogue with the EU". The
EU would like to see closer cooperation on regional cohesion to
help tackle the sharp regional differences within Brazil between
the North and the more developed South.
8.8 The Commission then outlines the areas in which
it would like to set a common agenda with Brazil: strengthening
multilateralism; raising human rights standards and fostering
democracy and governance; achieving the Millennium Development
Goals and promoting regional and social development; dialogue
on social, employment and regional policy issues; protecting the
environment; strengthening energy cooperation; enhancing Latin
America's stability and prosperity; reinforcing trade and economic
relations; justice freedom and security; bringing people together.
8.9 Specific suggestions include:
— strengthened
cooperation in all international fora, by consulting systematically
ahead of important UN and other meetings, aligning positions wherever
possible, ensuring mutual support on important issues and developing
common initiatives. The EU and Brazil should cooperate closely
to support and further develop the global non-proliferation regime.
Regarding Human Rights, the EU is particularly keen to work closely
with Brazil to achieve greater consensus on resolutions or co-sponsor
initiatives on specific countries and issues in the relevant UN
bodies.
— the EU and Brazil should "continue
to engage each other fully in the different formats of the WTO
negotiations to bring them to conclusion in 2007". In
the G20 Finance Ministers forum, "Brazil could be a key partner
to develop common positions with the EU, including the discussions
on the reforms of the international financial architecture. This
will be particularly relevant during Brazil's G20 Presidency in
2008";
— the EU should develop and reinforce its
Environmental Policy dialogue with Brazil, e.g., on climate change,
water management, biodiversity and deforestation, including the
role of indigenous people;
— starting with the launch of the EC-Brazil
Energy Policy Dialogue in 2007, seek significant progress in EU-Brazil
energy cooperation, including sustainable biofuels and other renewable
energy sources, energy efficiency and low carbon energy technologies,
and promoting policies to improve energy security and sustainability;
— continued engagement with Brazil in implementing
the recommendations of the EU-LAC Conference on Social Cohesion
and in moving
this agenda forward;
—
Brazil's close involvement in the preparation
of the next EU LAC summit in 2008;
— the EU and Brazil should explore how
to maximise cooperation and exchange of experiences in regional
integration questions;
— the EU and Brazil should intensify cooperation
with Brazil in the field of development assistance;
— Brazil "to make a constructive contribution
towards the conclusion of a balanced and comprehensive EU-Mercosur
agreement";
— regular macro-economic dialogue;
— expanded dialogue and cooperation on
Information and Communication Technologies and Science and Technology;
— modify the air transport agreements between
Brazil and EU Member States "as a matter of urgency";
— develop and expand the recently established
EU-Brazil maritime transport policy dialogue to include cooperation
regarding maritime governance;
— the EU and Brazil should promote regional
multidisciplinary law enforcement cooperation;
— more university exchanges, with €30.5
million for additional Erasmus Mundus scholarships for Brazilian
students;
— civil society contacts should be enhanced
in a variety of fields, including via the "Youth in Action"
programme and the organisation of an EU-Brazil Business Round
Table (the first meeting to take place in parallel with the Summit).
8.10 Against this background, the Commission proposes
that it should:
- "engage with Brazil to
launch a strategic partnership at the EU-Brazil Summit in Lisbon;
and
"invite Brazil to submit its own views on
the scope of the strategic partnership".
The Government's view
8.11 In his 25 June 2007 Explanatory Memorandum,
the Minister for Europe at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(Mr Geoffrey Hoon) says that Brazil's size, global role and its
potential leadership role in the region "mean the EU should
recognise this emerging power", and that the Communication
reflects the UK's interests in the region. He has strongly supported
the proposal to hold an EU-Brazil Summit and that first steps
towards launching a Strategic Partnership should be taken. He
is "working closely with the incoming Presidency, Commission
and other partners, to ensure the Summit, and an enhanced EU relationship
with Brazil, includes objectives and deliverables to support our
own global and bilateral interests."
8.12 He is also in favour of a Joint Action Plan
setting out objectives and concrete outcomes to pursue in the
EU relationship with Brazil, which he says was discussed by Member
States in Brussels on 19th June (at the GAERC, we presume). He
says that if the proposal of an Action Plan were adopted during
the EU-Brazil Summit, once the document became available, he would
be happy to submit it to the Committee along with an accompanying
explanatory letter.
Conclusion
8.13 This is a well-developed score. But, as the
Commission suggests, it takes two to samba.
8.14 When we considered the predecessor Communication
on relations with Latin America as a whole, which prepared the
ground for an EU-Latin American and Caribbean (EU-LAC) Summit
in Vienna in May 2006, we noted that, to be effective, and not
talk for talk's sake, dialogue between the EU and the major regional
powers in Latin America needed to be honest, and not shy away
from controversial but nonetheless important issues where positions
differed — in particular, we felt that warm words about
the EU and Latin America being close allies on the international
scene sat oddly with differences between the EU and Brazil in
the Doha Development Round. We accordingly asked the Minister
for his assessment, after the Summit, of the extent to which the
key considerations — clearly focussed, but honest dialogues
that tackle all relevant issues; no new burdensome structures;
MDG-focussed development priorities — were reflected in
what was discussed and agreed between the EU and its Latin American
partners.[30]
8.15 There continues to be echoes of this contradiction
in the present Communication. We should therefore be grateful
if the Minister would let us know what objectives and deliverables
to support the UK's global and bilateral interests emerge from
the Summit.
8.16 We should also like to know what process
and timetable is agreed for the production of a Joint Action Plan.
We also look forward to seeing it in due course, along with the
Minister's assessment of how well it meets the needs for focus,
effectiveness and realism.
8.17 We should also be grateful if the Minister
would respond to the request we made over a year ago in connection
with the 2006 EU-LAC Summit.[31]
8.18 In the meantime, we clear the Communication.
26 (27132) -: HC 34-xx (2005-06), para 16 (1 March
2006). Back
27
Mercosur or Mercosul (Spanish: Mercado Común del Sur, Portuguese:
Mercado Comum do Sul) is a Regional Trade Agreement between Brazil,
Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Paraguay, founded in 1991 by
the Treaty of Asunción, and amended and updated by the
1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade
and the free movement of goods, peoples, and currency. Back
28
A term coined in 2003 by Goldman Sachs for the rapidly emerging
economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. See http://www2.goldmansachs.com/insight/research/reports/report6.html.
Back
29
The "Unión de Naciones Suramericanas" - UNASUR
- was formally established at a Summit in Venezuela in April 2007. Back
30
See (27132) -: HC 34-xx (2005-06), para 16 (1 March 2006). Back
31
Ibid. Back
| 
