The European
Parliament adopted by 472 votes to 40, with 60 abstentions, a resolution on the
European Union-Brazil Strategic Partnership.
The resolution
addresses a number of recommendations to the Council, aimed at strengthening
the EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership.
The main
recommendations addressed to the Council can be summarised as follows:
- 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, as decided on at the EU-Latin America and Caribbean (LAC)
summits;
- the
Strategic Partnership should provide fresh impetus for the conclusion of
the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement;
- 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;
- 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;
- the
Strategic Partnership should be based on the principles of
multilateralism (in this context, the Parliament proposes that the
partners should seek to align their positions by means of close
cooperation and systematic consultation – for example, consultations prior
to WTO and G20 meetings);
- the partners
should endeavour to strengthen the conflict prevention and crisis
management capabilities at the UN, and promote democracy and human
rights at global level;
- 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, etc.;
- the partners
must work jointly to tackle the most pressing global challenges in the
area of peace and security (disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control,
etc.) as well as in other areas such as the fight against corruption, transnational
organised crime, drug trafficking, money laundering, trafficking in
small arms, light weapons and ammunition, trafficking in human beings
and terrorism (the Parliament stresses the need for the partners to
demonstrate total commitment to the EU-LAC Mechanism on Drugs);
- the
EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership must be based on the mutual recognition
of final judgments;
- the partners
should work closely to promote and implement the Millennium Development
Goals in order to tackle poverty (the Parliament welcomes Brazil's
efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals but notes that, in
spite of economic development and accumulation of wealth, Brazil still
has a high number of poor people, 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);
- a
wide-ranging dialogue on migration should be set up;
- it should advance
discussions in international fora with a view to concluding in 2009 a global and comprehensive post-2012 agreement on climate change;
- the partners
should strengthen international cooperation on the conservation and
sustainable management of all types of forests, including the Amazon
rainforest (the Parliament calls for a strengthening of cooperation with
regard to biodiversity and the production of low carbon energy);
- cooperation
in nuclear research should be strengthened so that Brazil may participate in the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project on
thermonuclear energy generation;
- 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;
- the
Strategic Partnership should contribute to the reinforcement of dialogue
in the following areas: energy, transport, food security, science and
technology, information society, employment and social issues, finance, regional
development, and culture and education;
- lastly, the
Strategic Partnership should encourage contacts between civil society
organisations, strengthen all measures aimed at improving the mutual
awareness of populations and provide for the establishment of a regular
structured dialogue between the Members of the Brazilian National
Congress and Members of the European Parliament (the European Parliament
calls on 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).