Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-09-25-Speech-2-238"
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"en.20070925.31.2-238"2
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"Madam President, I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss this very important topic. As has rightly been pointed out, the decision to establish a strategic partnership with Brazil goes back to the Commission’s first communication on Brazil, where we proposed a way forward in our relations with Brazil, and the first EU-Brazil summit in Lisbon has confirmed and cemented this new relationship.
We are in full agreement with Brazil that Mercosur is and will remain the only platform for our bilateral economic and trade relations. I am convinced that by engaging with Brazil, Mercosur’s largest member, we can bring a real added value to the regional integration process. Shared experience in a joint agenda with the EU will encourage Brazil to better support Mercosur efforts to build a common market and a political union.
Why a closer relationship with Brazil? The EU-Brazil strategic partnership is a natural reaction to geopolitical realities. Today, Brazil is becoming an international player with a strong weight on important global issues like climate change, the fight against poverty, peace, security and multilateralism. It is a respected voice in the developing world, as shown by its chairmanship of the G20 within the WTO or as an active promoter of the South-South dialogue.
It has forged new partnerships with all key players: China, Russia and the United States. The European Union has a lot to gain from a closer partnership with Brazil in order to progress on global issues of common concern.
The strategic partnership provides the appropriate framework, as experience has shown with all other members of the BRICS group. What effects will this partnership have on Latin America and, more specifically, on the Mercosur region? The promotion of regional integration is one of the cornerstones of the partnership. This is clearly stated in the Commission’s communication, and it is also how Brazil perceives it. President Lula made this point very strongly at the first EU-Brazil summit in July.
I cannot stress enough the importance of the Southern Cone for the European Union. Besides sharing cultural and political values like democracy, human rights and social justice, there is a huge economic potential to explore between the two economically complementary regions. The EU is Mercosur’s number one trade and investment partner. We have goods and services worth EUR 50 billion crossing the ocean annually. In addition, the aggregate value of EU investments in the Mercosur countries in 2005 was around EUR 100 billion.
Also, and most importantly, we genuinely believe in the potential of an economically and politically integrated Mercosur. The recent creation of the Structural Convergence Fund and Mercosur Parliament are most encouraging signals. The EU is a firm supporter of this integration process, not just in words but also in concrete deeds.
The European Union has been and will continue to be the quasi-exclusive donor to Mercosur integration. A sum of EUR 50 million has been committed over the last five years and the same amount is available for the current Financial Perspective (2007-2013) to help build Mercosur’s institutions, strengthen civil society and take economic integration forward.
The conclusion of the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement would be a colossal step forward in the integration process of the region. That is why the European Union remains firmly committed to concluding the negotiations and is keen to advance in negotiations once there is more clarity in the Doha Development Round.
The strategic partnership with Brazil is a decision in favour of Brazil and in favour of Mercosur. The two levels of relations – national and regional – will complement and mutually support each other. In no way does the partnership replace the biregional EU-Mercosur negotiations."@en1
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