EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership European Parliament recommendation to the Council of 12 March 2009 on the European Union-Brazil Strategic Partnership (2008/2288(INI))
Date: 2009-03-12
Institutions: Committee on Foreign Affairs, European Parliament
Subjects: Brazil, EU relations, cooperation agreement (EU), cooperation policy








CE2010087EN.01016801.xml










1.4.2010   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


CE 87/168





Thursday 12 March 2009EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership
P6_TA(2009)0140
European Parliament recommendation to the Council of 12 March 2009 on the European Union-Brazil Strategic Partnership (2008/2288(INI))
2010/C 87 E/34

The European Parliament,
having regard to the proposal for a recommendation to the Council by Véronique De Keyser on behalf of the PSE Group on the European Union-Brazil Strategic Partnership (B6-0449/2008),
having regard to Title V of the Treaty on European Union,
having regard to the Framework Agreement for Cooperation between the European Economic Community and the Federative Republic of Brazil (1),
having regard to the Interregional Framework Cooperation Agreement between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Southern Common Market and its Party States, of the other part (2),
having regard to its resolution of 15 November 2001 on a global partnership and a common strategy for relations between the European Union and Latin America (3),
having regard to its resolution of 27 April 2006 on a stronger partnership between the European Union and Latin America (4),
having regard to the Commission Communication entitled ‘Towards an EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership’ (COM(2007)0281),
having regard to the Joint Statement issued by the First EU-Brazil Summit in Lisbon on 4 July 2007,
having regard to its resolution of 24 April 2008 on the Fifth Latin America and Caribbean-European Union Summit in Lima (5),
having regard to the Lima Declaration issued at the Fifth Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)-European Union Summit in Lima, Peru, on 16 May 2008,
having regard to the Joint Statement issued by the Second EU-Brazil Summit in Rio de Janeiro on 22 December 2008,
having regard to Rule 114(3) of its Rules of Procedure,
having regard to the report of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the opinion of the Committee on Development (A6-0062/2009),






A.


whereas Brazil has become an increasingly significant regional and global player and has emerged as a key interlocutor for the EU,










B.


whereas Brazil and the European Union are partners who share the same world vision, and can promote changes and solutions worldwide,










C.


whereas the First EU-Brazil Summit launched the EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership, on the basis of the parties’ close historic, cultural and economic links, and the Second EU-Brazil Summit adopted a Joint Action Plan to be a framework for action in their Strategic Partnership over a three-year period,










D.


whereas the partners share fundamental values and principles such as democracy, the rule of law, the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, a market economy and social cohesion, which constitute basic pre-conditions for developing the Strategic Partnership,










E.


whereas priorities on the agendas of both regions have been changed by, inter alia, political and economic integration processes, the increasing rate of economic globalisation and the importance of the debate on democracy, human rights and the environment,










F.


whereas Brazil has been at the forefront of South American integration through the establishment of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR),










G.


whereas the Strategic Partnership will provide a significant boost to the establishment, by the year 2012, of the Euro-Latin American area of global interregional partnership proposed by Parliament in its above-mentioned resolution of 27 April 2006,










H.


whereas the establishment of the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat) was a decisive step towards strengthening the democratic legitimacy and political dimension of EU-Latin American relations, and whereas the future accession of the Mercosur Parliament to that Assembly will strengthen EuroLat in its role as a permanent forum for political dialogue between the two regions,










1.


Addresses the following recommendations to the Council:






(a)


the Strategic Partnership should form part of the bi-regional approach to, and of the global view of, relations between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), which are the basis of the Bi-Regional Strategic Association decided on at the EU-LAC summits;










(b)


the privileged mechanisms for political dialogue arising from the Strategic Partnership should provide a boost for relations with and between the various regional integration processes, with a view to safeguarding the values of the Strategic Partnership and strengthening multilateralism in international relations;










(c)


the Strategic Partnership should provide fresh impetus for the conclusion of the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement, an EU strategic objective for deepening economic and trade relations, as well as expanding political dialogue and cooperation, between the two regions;










(d)


the Strategic Partnership should provide real added value both in relation to the current Framework Cooperation Agreement with Brazil, the current Framework Cooperation Agreement with Mercosur and the future Association Agreement with Mercosur;










(e)


the focus of the Strategic Partnership’s political agenda should include the promotion of joint strategies to tackle global challenges, including inter alia peace and security, democracy and human rights, climate change, the financial crisis, biological diversity, energy security, sustainable development and the fight against poverty and exclusion;










(f)


effective multilateralism focused on the UN system is the most efficient way to tackle global issues; the partners should seek to align their positions by means of close cooperation and systematic consultation prior to UN meetings and those of other international bodies (e.g. the WTO) and fora (e.g. the G20);










(g)


the Strategic Partnership should underline the importance of implementing the ongoing reform process adopted at the UN Summit in 2005, including the reform of its main bodies;










(h)


the partners should endeavour to strengthen the conflict prevention and crisis management capabilities at the UN, in regional organisations and at bilateral level, and to coordinate efforts in UN peace-keeping and stabilisation operations;










(i)


the Strategic Partnership should be a tool to promote democracy and human rights, the rule of law and good governance at global level; the partners should further cooperate in the UN Human Rights Council and the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly to promote worldwide human rights;










(j)


the partners must continue working towards strengthening the multilateral trading system at WTO level; with the current global financial crisis, and close links between finance and trade, protectionism should be avoided; the partners should cooperate with a view to contributing to the successful conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda negotiations;










(k)


the Strategic Partnership should be used to promote cooperation between the partners in other international fora, such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the G20, with a view to finding solutions to the current global financial crisis, which has demonstrated the urgent need for reform of the international financial architecture;










(l)


the view expressed in the Commission’s Communication of 18 September 2008 entitled ‘Multilingualism: an asset for Europe and a shared commitment’ (COM(2008)0566), which underlines the strategic value for the EU of ‘the external dimension of multilingualism’ in today’s globalised world, should be supported; the fact that ‘some EU languages are also spoken in a great number of non-Member States in different continents’, that they ‘constitute an important link between peoples and nations’ and ‘a valuable communication tool for business’ namely in ‘emerging markets such as Brazil’, and that they are also a relevant cooperation and development asset, should be affirmed;










(m)


the partners must work jointly to tackle the most pressing global challenges in the area of peace and security, including inter alia disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control, especially as regards nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery, corruption, transnational organised crime and, more specifically, drug trafficking, money laundering, trafficking in small arms, light weapons and ammunition, trafficking in human beings and terrorism; they should demonstrate total commitment to the EU-LAC Mechanism on Drugs;










(n)


the Strategic Partnership between the European Union and the Federal Republic of Brazil must be based on the mutual recognition of final judgments;










(o)


the partners should work closely to promote and implement the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in order to tackle poverty and economic and social inequalities at global level; they should strengthen cooperation in the area of development aid, including triangular cooperation, and should also work together to combat international terrorism, drug trafficking and crime;










(p)


Brazil’s efforts to achieve the MDGs should be welcomed, and it should be congratulated on the positive developments in areas such as poverty alleviation, the reduction of child malnutrition and basic education; it should be stressed that Brazil still needs to engage in considerable efforts to achieve all MDGs by 2015, for example by ensuring sufficient quality in basic education for all girls and boys and continuing the decrease in mortality amongst children aged under five; it should be pointed out that the promotion of gender equality is a fundamental human right and an instrument for achieving the MDGs which needs to be present in the EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership;










(q)


it should be noted that, in spite of economic development and the accumulation of wealth, Brazil still has a high number of poor people; emphasis should be placed on the need to support the Brazilian government in its efforts to tackle poverty in the poorest regions and the poorest layers of society, taking into account the fact that 65 % of the poorest Brazilians are black or of mixed ethnicity, while 86 % of those in the most privileged class are white;










(r)


the Strategic Partnership should comprise a forum for debate and exchange of the partners’ best practices on social and regional cohesion; in this respect, the very positive impact of the Brazilian ‘Bolsa Família’ programme in the reduction of the country’s poverty and in the increase of its human development indicators should be acknowledged;










(s)


a wide-ranging dialogue on migration should be set up, giving priority to issues of regular and irregular migration, together with the protection of the human rights of migrants and the facilitation of remittances;










(t)


the partners should work together to advance discussions in international fora with a view to concluding in 2009 a global and comprehensive post-2012 agreement on climate change, based notably on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities;










(u)


the partners should also work closely towards implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity and achieving the 2010 biodiversity target;










(v)


the partners should strengthen international cooperation on the conservation and sustainable management of all types of forests, including the Amazon rainforest; they should exchange best practices on sustainable forest management and forest law enforcement;










(w)


the partners should develop low carbon energy technologies and ensure the sustainable production and use of renewable energies, including sustainable biofuels which do not affect the production of food crops and biodiversity; they should increase the percentage of renewable energies in their global energy mix, promote energy efficiency and access to energy, and achieve greater energy security;










(x)


cooperation in nuclear research should be strengthened so that Brazil may participate in the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project on thermonuclear energy generation;










(y)


given that access to medicinal products and public health are overarching aims, Brazil’s efforts to combat AIDS with low-cost medicines should be supported, and the EU should further investigate the compulsory licensing of medicines which tackle neglected pandemic illnesses affecting poor people;










(z)


the amount available under the Development Cooperation Instrument (6) (DCI) for Brazil must be used for measures to support Brazil in its fight against poverty and to achieve the MDGs and other measures that can be considered as genuine development assistance, for instance in the environmental sector;










(aa)


existing dialogues should be reinforced, and fresh sectoral dialogues should be launched, namely on the environment and sustainable development, energy, transport, food security, science and technology, the information society, employment and social issues, finance and macro-economics, regional development, culture and education;










(ab)


the Strategic Partnership should encourage contacts between civil society organisations, business and social partners’ fora, and should promote exchanges on an educational and cultural level;










(ac)


actions in favour of the EU-Brazil political partnership, mutual awareness and understanding and exchange programmes should be financed from an instrument other than the DCI;










(ad)


the Strategic Partnership should provide for the establishment of a regular structured dialogue between the Members of the Brazilian National Congress and Members of the European Parliament;










(ae)


provision should be made for the institutions of the EU and the Government of Brazil to provide the European Parliament and EuroLat with regular and detailed information on the state of play of the Strategic Partnership;














2.


Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to the Council and, for information, to the Commission and to the governments and parliaments of the Member States, as well as to the President and the National Congress of the Federative Republic of Brazil.






(1)  OJ L 262, 1.11.1995, p. 54.

(2)  OJ L 69, 19.3.1996, p. 4.

(3)  OJ C 140 E, 13.6.2002, p. 569.

(4)  OJ C 296 E, 6.12.2006, p. 123.

(5)  Texts adopted, P6_TA(2008)0177.

(6)  Regulation (EC) No 1905/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation (OJ L 378, 27.12.2006, s. 41).