The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy adopted the report by Angelo CIOCCA (ENF, IT) on the draft Council decision concerning the renewal of the Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and Brazil.
The committee recommended that the European Parliament give its consent to the renewal of the Agreement.
The Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation between the European Community and Brazil entered into force on 7 August 2007. The Agreement was concluded initially for five years and may be renewed by consensus on a five yearly basis. Accordingly, Parliament is now being called upon to give its consent to the second renewal.
As stated in the explanatory memorandum accompanying the Recommendation, Brazil has made significant progress in science, technology and innovation (STI) policy since the last renewal of the Agreement (Decision 2012/646/EU).
Brazil continues to be in the forefront of agricultural research, as well as research into tropical and infective diseases. It is also a world-class player in the fields of information and communication technologies, nanotechnologies, and energy and has some of the best universities in Latin America. These research areas are of interest to the EU.
The Agreement covers a wide range of research fields falling under the EU research and innovation framework programme. Research into renewables, and second-generation advanced biofuels in particular, has been singled out as one of the mutually beneficial priorities for research cooperation.
Among non-associated third countries, Brazil was the sixth most active country under FP7 (2007-2013) and has to date been the fifth most active under Horizon 2020.
Given that its potential as a research and innovation partner is continuing to grow, Brazil should be viewed as a strategic partner for the EU in Latin America.