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).

The Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted an own-initiative report drafted by Maria Eleni KOPPA (PES, EL) with a proposal for a European Parliament recommendation to the Council on the EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership. It referred to the proposal for a recommendation to the Council by Véronique De Keyser on behalf of the PES Group on the Strategic Partnership, and made some recommendations to Council, the main points of which are as follows:

the Strategic Partnership should form part of the bi-regional approach to relations between the EU, Latin America and the Caribbean, which are the basis of the Bi-Regional Strategic Association decided on at the EU-Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) summits; it should provide fresh impetus for the conclusion of the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement; it 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 its political agenda should include 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 partners should seek to align their positions by means of systematic consultation prior to UN meetings and those of other international bodies (e.g. the World Trade Organization (WTO)) and fora (e.g. the G20); 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; the partners should demonstrate total commitment to the EU-LAC Mechanism on Drugs; the partners should work closely to promote the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and strengthen cooperation in the area of development aid, international terrorism, drug trafficking and crime; emphasis should be placed on the need to support the Brazilian government in its efforts to tackle poverty, 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, together with the protection of the human rights of migrants and the facilitation of remittances; the partners should work together to advance discussions in international fora with a view to concluding in 2009 a comprehensive post-2012 agreement on climate change, based notably on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities; they should strengthen international cooperation on the conservation of all types of forests, including the Amazon rainforest, and exchange best practices; they should develop low carbon energy technologies and ensure the sustainable production and use of renewable energies, including sustainable biofuels which do not affect the production of food crops and biodiversity; cooperation in nuclear research should be strengthened so that Brazil may participate in the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project on thermonuclear energy generation; Brazil 's efforts to combat AIDS with low-cost medicines should be supported; fresh sectoral dialogues should be launched on several sectors e.g the environment and sustainable development, energy, transport, food security, and science and technology; the Strategic Partnership should encourage contacts between civil society organisations, business and social partners' fora, and should promote exchanges on an educational and cultural level; actions in favour of the EU-Brazil political partnership, mutual awareness and understanding and exchange programmes should be financed from an instrument other than the DCI; the Strategic Partnership should provide for the establishment of a regular structured dialogue between the Members of the Brazilian National Congress and Members of the European Parliament; provision should be made for the institutions of the EU and Brazil to provide the European Parliament and EuroLat with regular information on the state of play of the Strategic Partnership.

Pursuant to Rule 114(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament, Véronique DE KEYSER (PES, BE), on behalf of the PES Group, has drafted a proposal for a recommendation on the European Union-Brazil Strategic Partnership.

In the context of the progressive establishment of a Euro-Latin-American Partnership Area by 2012 with Brazil, MEPs present a series of recommendations to the Council, which can be summarised as follows:

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 Caribbean; political dialogue should direct the Partnership as a whole, at all levels; the Strategic Partnership should provide real added value in relation to current bilateral agreements between the EU, Brazil and Mercosur; the central issues on which the Partnership's political agenda and dialogue will focus should be the promotion of peace and security, democracy, climate change, energy security and sustainable development, and the fight against poverty and exclusion; both Partners should seek to bring their positions closer together by means of closer cooperation with the United Nations, by encouraging multilateralism; in terms of peace and security, the main issues to tackle are disarmament, non-proliferation and control of weapons, organised crime and specifically drug trafficking, money laundering, trafficking in small arms, light weapons and ammunition, trafficking in human beings, and terrorism; the Partners need to make progress with the debate on social cohesion and migration, which must become a central point of cooperation; dialogue should also tackle sectoral policies on transport, food security, science and technology, information society, employment and social issues, regional development, culture and education, etc; the Partnership should also encourage the provision of regular information to the European Parliament and the Euro-Latin-American Parliamentary Assembly.

Pursuant to Rule 114(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament, Véronique DE KEYSER (PES, BE), on behalf of the PES Group, has drafted a proposal for a recommendation on the European Union-Brazil Strategic Partnership.

In the context of the progressive establishment of a Euro-Latin-American Partnership Area by 2012 with Brazil, MEPs present a series of recommendations to the Council, which can be summarised as follows:

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 Caribbean; political dialogue should direct the Partnership as a whole, at all levels; the Strategic Partnership should provide real added value in relation to current bilateral agreements between the EU, Brazil and Mercosur; the central issues on which the Partnership's political agenda and dialogue will focus should be the promotion of peace and security, democracy, climate change, energy security and sustainable development, and the fight against poverty and exclusion; both Partners should seek to bring their positions closer together by means of closer cooperation with the United Nations, by encouraging multilateralism; in terms of peace and security, the main issues to tackle are disarmament, non-proliferation and control of weapons, organised crime and specifically drug trafficking, money laundering, trafficking in small arms, light weapons and ammunition, trafficking in human beings, and terrorism; the Partners need to make progress with the debate on social cohesion and migration, which must become a central point of cooperation; dialogue should also tackle sectoral policies on transport, food security, science and technology, information society, employment and social issues, regional development, culture and education, etc; the Partnership should also encourage the provision of regular information to the European Parliament and the Euro-Latin-American Parliamentary Assembly.