PROPOSAL FOR A RECOMMENDATION TO THE COUNCIL
18.9.2008
by Véronique De Keyser
on behalf of the PSE Group
on the European Union-Brazil Strategic Partnership
B6‑0449/2008
European Parliament recommendation to the Council 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, CityplaceLisbon, 4 July 2007,
– having regard to its resolution of 24 April 2008 on the V Latin-American and Caribbean-European Union Summit in CityplaceLima[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 placeCaribbean, 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 country-regionplaceBrazil, 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.