1st EU–Brazil summit explained

The first summit meeting between the European Union (EU) and Brazil took place in Lisbon on 4 July 2007. At the summit, Brazil was granted special partnership status with the EU.

Leaders at the summit

Portugal and European Union
- Prime Minister of Portugal and President-in-office of the Council of the European Union José Sócrates
Brazil
- President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
European Union
- President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso

Participants at the dinner

Portugal
- Prime Minister José Sócrates
Portugal
- President Aníbal Cavaco Silva
Brazil
- President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
European Union
- President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso
France
- President Nicolas Sarkozy
Spain
- Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
Italy
- Prime Minister Romano Prodi
Slovenia
- Prime Minister Janez Janša

Location

This summit took place in Lisbon, at the Pavilhão Atlântico. The dinner was offered by the Portuguese President Aníbal Cavaco Silva, at Belém Cultural Center.

Discussions

The summit aimed to establish closer relations between the European Union and Brazil. Portugal formally invited its former colony, Brazil, to be a strategic partner of the EU, along with India, Russia and China, meaning that all the BRIC countries now had special partnership status.^[1]

Issues concerned with a proposed trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur group of South American countries including Brazil were also discussed.

Associated with the summit, the oil and energy corporations Galp Energia of Portugal and Petrobras of Brazil signed an agreement on production of vegetable oils in Brazil.

External links

The official website of the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union

Notes and References

http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2007/07/05/european_union_seeks_out_brazil_as_a_new_trading_partner/ European Union seeks out Brazil as a new trading partner