Portugal to invite Brazil as EU partner, Lula to be present at high-level biofuels meeting

The European Union has a rotating Presidency that changes every six months. Portugal is taking over from Germany and has announced that it will invite Brazil into a select club of EU strategic partner countries. The main reasons: the fact that the Latin American giant is the major biofuel producer and that it plays a crucial role in mitigating climate change. Another focus of Portugal's Presidency is aimed at boosting EU cooperation in Africa, particularly in the field of energy.

Portugal and Brazil have been cooperating intensively on producing biofuels in the South, not only in Brazil itself, but in Africa as well. This 'lusophone connection' brings both countries to former colonies, like Angola and Mozambique. Last week, a delegation of Brazilian government officials and business people met in Lisbon to discuss cooperation in biofuel production.

The invitation into the status of European Strategic partner will be announced tomorrow at Portugal's first summit as EU president. This EU-Brazil summit is set to allow the former Portuguese colony to join the ranks of countries such as the United States, Russia and China by 2008 as a partner of the 27-nation bloc.

The meeting of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and other leaders signals a higher profile for Latin America in EU foreign policy as it shifts its focus from eastern Europe.

The partnership is meant to improve cooperation between the EU and Brazil in areas like trade, renewable energy and the fight against poverty.

Brazil has an important role in the production of biofuels and we will also look at ways to cooperate in that area. - Clara Borja, spokeswoman for Portugal's EU presidency.

Brussels sees Brazil - one of the world's biggest emerging economies which is home to most of the Amazon's rainforest and the major biofuels producer - as a key player in the fight against global warming, one of the EU's priorities. EU leaders agreed in March to a target for biofuels to represent at least 10 percent of vehicle fuels by 2020 (earlier post).

Afyer the summit in Lisbon, Lula is due to visit Brussels on Thursday for a two-day conference on biofuels trade, part of his country's push to foster consumption and production of fuel made from crops rather than fossil fuels. Biopact was invited to attend this conference and we will be reporting on it:
biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: Portugal :: Brazil :: European Union ::

The summit will also address bilateral trade and investment issues to complement the EU's talks for a trade deal with the Mercosur group of South American countries including Brazil.

These talks are on hold pending an outcome of struggling global trade talks at the World Trade Organisation, in which Brazil has locked horns with the EU and the United States.

Brazil is the EU's main trading partner in Latin America.

Trade with Brazil totalled around 39 billion euros ($53 billion) in 2005, the EU importing 23 billion euros, mostly agricultural products, and exporting 16 billion, according to the European Commission.

That is why Brazil's Lula has sounded an uncompromising note over the negotiations, saying rich nations must open up their markets to agricultural imports before demanding trade concessions from developing countries.

"We made a point of saying the days of subservience are over. We want to be treated as equals," the former union leader told workers at an auto industry event in Sao Paulo on Monday.

The Portuguese Presidency is further going to organise an EU-Africa Summit which will focus on the issues of migration, but also energy.

References:
EU Commision, External Relations: The EU's relations with Brazil.

Euractiv: The Portuguese Presidency: In Brief - July 2, 2007.