"Rise of emerging powers represents an opportunity for the EU"

The EU should work together with emerging countries such as China and India to build a multi-polar, inclusive system of global governance that deals efficiently with global challenges. MEPs have adopted a report that points out that the EU shares a common interest with these countries in tackling global instability and security risks to economic development.

The report, adopted last week, calls for a closer relationship with the group of BRICS countries (made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) as their fast economic growth is turning them into increasingly important players on the global scene. China is projected to be the world's largest economy before 2020 and India could become the fastest growing economy before 2050. Rapporteur Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, a Polish Christian Democrat, said that when there was a common interest, there would be scope for collaborating with emerging countries.

This collaboration could either be bilaterally or multilaterally, based on the issue involved. The Parliament believes in a mixed model that cuts across the developed/emerging world divide. For example, the EU could work together with the BRICS in pushing for reform of the IMF and the World Bank to reflect changes in countries' economic weight. However, it should prioritise relations with those BRICS that share and respect democratic values and strive for a social market economy.