REPORT with a proposal for a European Parliament recommendation to the Council on the European Union-Brazil Strategic Partnership

PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

PROPOSAL FOR A RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL (B6‑0449/2008) (18.9.2008)

OPINION of the Committee on Development (22.1.2009)

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

25.2.2009 - (2008/2288(INI))

Committee on Foreign Affairs
Rapporteur: Maria Eleni Koppa

Procedure : 2008/2288(INI)

Document stages in plenary

Document selected :

A6-0062/2009

Texts tabled :

A6-0062/2009

Debates :

PV 12/03/2009 - 5
CRE 12/03/2009 - 5

Votes :

PV 12/03/2009 - 7.16
Explanations of votes
Explanations of votes

Texts adopted :

P6_TA(2009)0140

PROPOSAL FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
PROPOSAL FOR A RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL (B6‑0449/2008)
OPINION of the Committee on Development
RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

on the European Union-Brazil Strategic Partnership

(2008/2288(INI))

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 European Union Treaty,

– having regard to the Framework Agreement for Cooperation between the European Community and the Federal 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 1st 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-European Union Summit in Lima, Peru, on 16 May 2008,

– having regard to the Joint Statement issued by the 2nd 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 1st EU-Brazil Summit launched the EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership, on the basis of the parties' close historic, cultural and economic links, and the 2nd 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, and 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 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, Latin America and the Caribbean, which are the basis of the Bi-Regional Strategic Association decided on at the EU-Latin America and Caribbean (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 United Nations (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 World Trade Organization (WTO)) and fora (e.g. the G20);

(g) the Strategic Partnership should underline the importance of implementing the on-going 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, as well as coordinate efforts in UN's peacekeeping 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 world-wide 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, towards 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 partners should work closely to promote and implement the Millennium Development Goals 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;

(o) Brazil's efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (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 the under-fives; 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;

(p) it should be noted that, in spite of economic development and 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;

(q) 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;

(r) 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;

(s) 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;

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

(u) 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;

(v) 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;

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

(x) 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;

(y) the amount available under the Development Cooperation Instrument (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;

(z) 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;

(aa) 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;

(ab) 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;

(ac) 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;

(ad) 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 of the European Union, 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.

1. Dialogue between the EU and Brazil was mainly carried out in the context of the Cooperation Framework Agreement with Brazil, the Cooperation Framework Agreement with Mercosur and the EU-Mercosur negotiations. Brazil was the last BRIC country to engage in a Summit with the EU.

2. Further to the intensification and diversification of their relations, and also taking into account the emerging economic and political role played by the Brazil at regional and global level, at the I EU-Brazil Summit, held at Lisbon on 4 July 2007, both sides agreed to enhance their longstanding bilateral relationship by launching a comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

This new step towards a closer relationship between the EU and Brazil is based on their historical, cultural and economic ties and their shared values and beliefs, which include, inter alia, democracy, rule of law, promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, market-based economy and social cohesion, concern about climate change, and the pursuit of sustainable development and social justice.

The Strategic Partnership should have a comprehensive scope and be forward-looking in nature, therefore providing real added value both in relation to the current Cooperation Framework Agreement with Brazil, the current Cooperation Framework Agreement with Mercosur and the future Association Agreement with Mercosur.

Hence, such a Strategic Partnership implies widening political dialogue, so as to include all global issues of common interest, strengthening bilateral cooperation and contributing to regional integration by facilitating the conclusion of an EU-Mercosur Association Agreement.

3. The EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership should be committed to the strengthening of the EU-Mercosur and the EU-LAC relations within the framework of the Bi-Regional Strategic Association established at the EU-LAC Summits.

Taking into account the central role played by Brazil in Latin American integration processes and the EU's interest to reinforce dialogue with that region, the EU welcomes the initiatives taken by Brazil to promote political and economic integration between Latin American countries. The crucial role played by Brazil as a main promoter of the recently established Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) deserves clear recognition.

Against this backdrop, the Strategic Partnership should improve dialogue on regional matters, including dialogue on actual and potential sources of peace disturbance in the LAC region, and could play an interesting role in contributing to the prevention and resolution of regional conflicts. It should be acknowledged that Brazil has been successfully playing a role as mediator in the resolution of LAC regional conflicts, based on respect for principles of national sovereignty, non-interference and neutrality, with a positive effect on the political stability in the region.

Brazil is also key player in the success of the EU-Mercosur negotiations, bearing in mind the EU strategic objective to conclude a comprehensive Association Agreement with the most successful regional integration initiative in Latin America to date. The Strategic Partnership should provide fresh impetus in this respect, as a tool for the further deepening of inter-regional and intra-regional economic and trade relations, as well as expanding political dialogue and cooperation initiatives.

Global challenges and multilateralism

4. The EU and Brazil should focus the Partnership's political agenda and dialogue on the establishment of joint strategies aimed to cope with the most pressing global challenges i.e. peace and security, democracy and human rights, financial crisis, climate change, biodiversity, energy security, sustainable development, fight against poverty and exclusion.

5. EU and Brazil share the conviction that effective multilateral action anchored on the United Nations system would be the best way to tackle those challenges. To this end, alignment of their respective positions and the provision of mutual support on outstanding issues should be agreed and coordinated through in-depth consultation prior to United Nations meetings and conferences and those of other international bodies (e.g. WTO) and fora (e.g. G20).

6. At UN level, the Brazilian leadership of the MINUSTAH peace-keeping mission in Haiti, as well as its role as coordinator of the UN Peace-Building Commission (PBC) relating to Guinea-Bissau, demonstrates Brazil's increasing readiness to engage actively in UN initiatives. Given also the EU's strong involvement in those countries, there is room for increased cooperation and coordination of efforts by both the EU and Brazil on peace and stabilisation initiatives. The EU and Brazil should also endeavour to strengthen the conflict prevention and crisis management capabilities at the UN, in regional organisations and at bilateral level.

7. The EU and Brazil have been firmly committed to promoting and protecting human rights and democracy, the rule of law and good governance. The Strategic Partnership should be used as a tool to promoting and protecting those fundamental values at international level. The partners should further cooperate in both the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly Third Committee to promote global human rights.

8. The importance of implementing the on-going reform process adopted at the UN Summit in 2005, including the reform of its main bodies must be underlined by the EU and Brazil. Such reform should revitalize the UN in order to reinforce its democratic nature, representativeness, transparency, accountability and efficiency.

9. The EU and Brazil must continue working towards strengthening the multilateral trading system at WTO level. With the current international financial crisis, and close links between finance and trade, protectionism should be avoid; thus the Partners should endeavour, more than ever, to cooperate with a view to contributing to the successful conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda negotiations.

10. The Strategic Partnership should be a stepping-stone to promote cooperation between the partners in other international fora such as the World Bank, the IMF and the G20. The latter, under Brazilian presidency in 2008, is a forum that can play a very important role towards finding solutions to the current global financial crisis, which demonstrated the urgent need for reform of the international financial architecture. The time is ripe for action at global level to review the role of international institutions in surveillance and regulation of financial markets and to overhaul global governance structures to prevent any future crisis.

11. Global peace and security are among the most pressing global challenges requiring efforts and compromise from all world regions. The EU and Brazil must work jointly to deal with disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control, especially nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery. Also, corruption, transnational organized crime and, more specifically, drug trafficking, money laundering, trafficking of small arms, light weapons and ammunition, trafficking in human beings and terrorism should be discussed in the framework of the Strategic Partnership. Dialogue on illicit drug issues should be based on the principle of shared responsibility and should aim to increase the capacity of the partners to tackle global drugs problem. Both partners should demonstrate total commitment to the European Union-Latin-America and Caribbean Co-ordination and Co-operation Mechanism on Drugs.

Millennium Development Goals, eradication of poverty, social and regional cohesion

12. The eradication of poverty is a main global challenge. The EU and Brazil should reinforce cooperation with a view to achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals before 2015 and to implementing the plan of action of the Monterrey International Conference on Financing for Development.

13. While the EU has a long experience of providing development aid to developing countries, Brazil has been increasingly active in South-South cooperation, particularly as regards its neighbouring countries, the Portuguese speaking countries of Africa and East-Timor. Brazil has been also active in launching multilateral initiatives, such as the UN "Global Action against Hunger and Poverty".

14. The Strategic Partnership could promote the launching of common initiatives on development cooperation, including triangular cooperation. In view of their close cultural and historical ties with Africa, the EU and Brazil could consider exploring avenues for triangular cooperation, for instance, with interested lusophone developing countries using the Memorandum of Understanding concluded between the European Commission and the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP).

15. The Strategic Partnership should also stress the commitment of the partners to social and regional cohesion and reaffirm that this objective is not incompatible with a market-based economy and that they are in fact complementary forces. The Strategic Partnership should provide a forum for debate and exchange of points of view on best practices on social and regional cohesion for the benefit of both regions.

Migration, short stay visa waiver agreement

16. Migration is and will remain a main topic of the intra-regional policy debate, taking into account developments and future initiatives of the European immigration policy. The Strategic Partnership should, in the light of the Lima Declaration, promote a wide-ranging dialogue on migration, covering regular and irregular migration, the facilitation of remittances, and, last but not least, the protection of human rights of migrants.

17. The European Parliament welcomes the launching of negotiations for a short stay visa waiver agreement between the European Community and Brazil and looks forward to its swift conclusion. Such an agreement should ensure equal treatment of all EU citizens and full mutual visa free travel for both Brazilian and European citizens. According to Protocol 4 annexed to the Amsterdam Treaty, the UK and Ireland shall not be bound by such a visa waiver agreement. The conclusion of a short stay visa waiver agreement could be seen as a stepping-stone to facilitate the movement of people with a view to achieving the ultimate objective of concluding a Global Interregional Partnership Agreement providing for free movement of persons.

Sustainable development: environment, climate change, biodiversity and energy

18. The Strategic Partnership should enhance inter-regional cooperation for environmental protection. The EU and Brazil should strive together for greater international action to combat climate change and deforestation and protect biodiversity.

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

The partners should also work closely towards implementing the Convention on Biological Diversity and achieving the biodiversity 2010 target. Moreover, they should endeavour to address other global concerns, such as the protection of forests, in particular the Amazon, water resources (taking into account inter alia the EU Water Initiative for Latin America), mercury pollution and unsustainable patterns of consumption and production.

19. The EU and Brazil should cooperate to ensure the sustainable production and use of renewable energies, including sustainable biofuels, and to develop low carbon energy technologies. The partners should improve both energy efficiency and access to energy, as well as achieve greater energy security. They should also increase the percentage of renewable energies in their global energy mix.

Trade and economic relations

20. Trade relations between the partners are already intense, Brazil being the main destination for European exports to Latin America and the EU being Brazil's most important trading partner. Nonetheless, given the current relatively high level of protection of Brazilian goods and services markets, the partners should further explore potential for inter-regional trade through both the Doha Development Agenda and the EU-Mercosur negotiations.

21. The EU and Brazil should take steps to ensure that further liberalisation of trade and facilitation of investment will induce economic growth and prosperity for their regions. Hence, they should cooperate actively to a successful conclusion of the WTO Doha Development Agenda Round, with a view to enhancing trade flows among and between developed and developing countries and promoting effective trade rules.

22. The partners are of the view that regional trade agreements are important complements to the Multilateral Trade System. Therefore, and in order to deepen inter-regional trade and investment flows, the EU and Brazil should work together to conclude in the short term the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement, a strategic objective that has not been achieved due to lack of progress in the negotiations of its trade chapter.

23. Given Brazil’s increasing weight in the world economy, the central role it plays in international fora, such as the G20 and the G8 outreach group, and the current global financial crisis, the Strategic Partnership should provide room for dialogue on financial and macro-economic issues. Such a dialogue, apart from addressing the outstanding financial and economic issues, should also allow for debate on structural reforms aimed at sustainable growth and social cohesion.

24. European Investment Bank support to Brazil’s sustainable development projects and cooperation with the Brazilian National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES) should be encouraged by the partners.

Sectoral Policy cooperation and dialogues

25. The Strategic Partnership should contribute to reinforcement of existing and the launching of new dialogues with regard to sectoral policies, inter alia, on environment and sustainable development, energy, transport, food security, science and technology, information society, employment and social issues, regional development, and culture and education.

26. As concerns science and technology, it should be stressed the impetus for in-depth cooperation provided by the relevant EU-Brazil agreement in force since 2006. The EU intends also to establish a partnership with Brazil in the field of fusion energy research. To this effect, in July 2008, authorization was received from the Council for the Commission to open negotiations on a cooperation agreement between the European Atomic Energy Community and Brazil.

Involvement of civil society organisations, business and social partners, educational and cultural exchanges

27. Raising awareness and understanding of both cultures and societies on a reciprocal basis is essential for the strengthening of the EU-Brazil relationship. This implies encouraging contacts between civil society organisations, business associations and social partners' fora (including trade unions) and promoting exchanges on an educational and cultural level. For instance, the Strategic Partnership should support the expansion of EU-Brazil cooperation in higher education by intensifying university exchanges under Erasmus Mundus and other bi-national and bi-regional schemes, such as the ALCUE Common Area in Higher Education. Further, cooperation within the framework of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions should be advanced.

pursuant to Rule 114(1) of the Rules of Procedure

by Véronique De Keyser

on behalf of the PSE Group

on the European Union-Brazil Strategic Partnership

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Title V of the European Union Treaty,

– having regard to the Cooperation Framework Agreement between the European Community and the Federal Republic of Brazil[1],

– having regard to the Inter-Regional Cooperation Framework Agreement between the European Union and its Member States on the one part, and the Common Market of the South and its Member States, on the other[2],

– having regard to its resolution of 15 November 2001 on a global association 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 'Towards an EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership' (COM(2007)281 final, of 30 May),

– having regard to the Joint Declaration of the I EU-Brazil Summit, Lisbon, 4 July 2007,

– having regard to its resolution of 24 April 2008 on the V Latin-American and Caribbean-European Union Summit in Lima[5],

– having regard to the Lima Declaration at the V Latin-American and Caribbean-European Union Summit in Lima, Peru, 16 May 2008,

– having regard to Rule 114(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas the I European Union-Brazil Summit took place in Lisbon on 4 July 2007, launching the Strategic Partnership between the European Union and Brazil, on the basis of their close historic, cultural and economic links,

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

C. whereas the launching of the Strategic Partnership between the EU and Brazil will mean a significant boost to establishing, by the year 2012, the Euro-Latin-American Inter-Regional Global Partnership Area put forward by Parliament in its resolution of 27 April 2006,

D. 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 to this Assembly of the Mercosur Parliament will strengthen the latter in its role as a permanent forum for political dialogue between the two regions,

1. Addresses the following recommendations to the Council:

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

b) The special mechanisms for political dialogue arising from the EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership should provide a real boost for relations with and between the various regional integration processes, the safeguarding of the values and concerns of the Strategic Association and the strengthening of multilateralism in the sphere of international relations;

c) The Strategic Partnership should provide real added value both in relations to the provisions of the current Cooperation Framework Agreement with Brazil, the current Cooperation Framework Agreement with Mercosur, and the future Association Agreement with Mercosur;

d) The Economic Partnership should be made operative as soon as possible, by adopting a joint action plan at the next EU-Brazil Summit, scheduled for December 2008;

e) The central issues on which the Partnership's political agenda and dialogue will focus should be identified, including the promotion of joint strategies to tackle challenges at world level, specifically with regard to peace and security, democracy and human rights, climate change, biological diversity, energy security and sustainable development, and the fight against poverty and exclusion;

f) It should be stressed that the best way to tackle world issues is effective multilateralism focused on the United Nations system; both Partners should seek to bring their positions closer together by means of closer cooperation and systematic consultation before United Nations meetings and those of other international bodies;

g) Both Partners must work jointly to tackle the most pressing world-level challenges in the area of peace and security and on issues like disarmament, non-proliferation and control of weapons, transnational organised crime and specifically drug trafficking, money laundering, trafficking in small arms, light weapons and ammunition, trafficking in human beings, and terrorism; the Partners must display total commitment to the European Union-Latin-America and Caribbean Co-ordination and Co-operation Mechanism on Drugs;

h) The Partners should re-affirm their commitment to collaborating closely on promoting and implementing the Millennium Development Objectives and strengthening cooperation in the area of development aid, including triangular cooperation; the Partners need to fight poverty and make progress with the debate on social cohesion within the framework of EU-LAC relations;

i) A wide-ranging dialogue on migration should be set up, within which issues of illegal immigration, and the possibilities for legal migration need to take pride of place, alongside the protection of the human rights of migrant workers;

j) Existing dialogues should be reinforced, and fresh dialogues should be launched, with regard to sectoral policies on the environment and sustainable development, energy, transport, food security, science and technology, information society, employment and social issues, regional development, culture and education;

k) Provision should be made for the institutions of the European Union and the Government of the Federal Republic of Brazil to provide the European Parliament and the Euro-Latin-American Parliamentary Assembly with regular and detailed information on the state of the Strategic Partnership and the implementation of the work being done within the Partnership;

2. Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to the Council and, for information, to the Commission, and to the governments of the Member States of the European Union.

[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)0117.

for the Committee on Foreign Affairs

on a proposal for a European Parliament recommendation to the Council on the EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership
(2008/2288(INI))

Rapporteur: Juan Fraile Cantón

SUGGESTIONS

The Committee on Development calls on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following suggestions in its motion for a resolution:

1. Welcomes Brazil's increasing role on the international stage, the growth of its economy and the strong EU-Brazil economic relations;

2. Considers the first EU-Brazil Summit held in Lisbon on 4 July 2007, where Brazil and the EU agreed to enhance their longstanding bilateral relationship and to engage in a strategic partnership, to be a political step of the utmost importance;

3. Supports the view expressed in the Commission 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; reaffirms 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 a relevant cooperation and development asset as well;

4. Notes that in spite of economic development and accumulation of wealth, Brazil still has a high number of poor people; Stresses 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;

5. Welcomes Brazil's efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and congratulates it on the positive developments in areas such as poverty alleviation, reduction of child malnutrition and basic education; Stresses that Brazil still needs to undertake considerable efforts to reach all MDGs by 2015, for example in ensuring sufficient quality in basic education for all girls and boys and in continuing the decrease in under-five mortality; Points out that the promotion of gender equality is a fundamental human right and an instrument to achieve the MDGs which needs to be present in the EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership;

6. Recalls the unsolved human rights problems in Brazil and calls on both the Brazilian authorities and the European Union to increase and coordinate their efforts to stop illegal labour conditions, particularly in sugar cane production and to protect those seeking to prevent illegal logging and other threats to rainforest communities;

7. Supports Brazil's efforts to combat AIDS with low-cost medicines, and calls on the EU to further investigate in compulsory licensing for medicines addressing neglected pandemic illnesses poor people suffer from;

8. Highlights the fact that deforestation and the expansion of large-scale agriculture have led to a loss of biodiversity in vast areas; notes that global climate change and deforestation may lead to potentially catastrophic consequences for the rainforest and the whole region and therefore insists on the importance of integrating global climate change into the cooperation strategies while ensuring the rights and participation of indigenous and other forest-dependent people;

9. Calls on the Brazilian authorities to keep a balance between new renewable energy sources and global food security; stresses therefore that it is essential to involve the country in a long-term strategy for sustainable development and production of advanced agrifuels for local consumption, avoiding monocultures with destructive effects for the environment;

10. Insists that the amount available under the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) for Brazil should be used for measures supporting 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;

11. Considers that 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.

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

Date adopted

Result of final vote

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Members present for the final vote

Margrete Auken, Thijs Berman, Josep Borrell Fontelles, Danutė Budreikaitė, Marie-Arlette Carlotti, Thierry Cornillet, Corina Creţu, Koenraad Dillen, Beniamino Donnici, Fernando Fernández Martín, Juan Fraile Cantón, Alain Hutchinson, Filip Kaczmarek, Maria Martens, Luisa Morgantini, José Ribeiro e Castro, Toomas Savi, Frithjof Schmidt, Jürgen Schröder, Feleknas Uca, Anna Záborská, Jan Zahradil, Mauro Zani

Substitute(s) present for the final vote

Maria Berger, Raymond Langendries, Miguel Angel Martínez Martínez, Manolis Mavrommatis, Anne Van Lancker

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