Brazil and the European Union established diplomatic relations in 1960.
European Commission for External Relations. Retrieved on 2009-07-17. The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

have close historical, cultural, economic and political ties. At the 1st EU-Brazil summit, in 2007, Brazil entered in a strategic partnership with the European Union, strengthening their ties. This new relationship places Brazil high on the EU's political map.

Agreements

The present relationship is governed by the EC-Brazil Framework Cooperation Agreement (1992), EU-Mercosul Framework Cooperation Agreement (1995) and the Agreement for Scientific and Technological Cooperation (2004). The EU is currently seeking a

free trade agreement A free-trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occur ...

with Mercosur, the regional trade bloc of which Brazil is a part.

Trade

The EU is Brazil's leading trade partner and represented 18.3% of Brazil's total trade in 2017. In 2007, the EU imported

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

32.3 billion in Brazilian goods and exported €21.2 billion in goods to Brazil.EU-Brazil Summit (Rio de Janeiro, December 22, 2008)
residency of the Council of the European Union. Retrieved on 2009-07-17. Brazil's exports to the EU are mainly primary products (primarily agricultural) however a third is made up of manufactured products. The EU's exports to Brazil are mainly manufactured machinery, transport equipment and chemicals. In terms of goods, Brazil has a trade surplus with the EU; however including services it has a deficit. The EU is also a major investor in Brazil with investment capital amounting to €88 billion in 2006 making it the largest single investor in the country.

Cross-border cooperation

Brazil and the EU share a 673 km border between the state of

Amapá Amapá () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is in the northern region of Brazil. It is the second least populous state and the eighteenth largest by area. Located in the far northern part of the country, Amapá is bordered clockwise by Fr ...

and the

French overseas department The overseas departments and regions of France (french: départements et régions d'outre-mer, ; ''DROM'') are departments of France that are outside metropolitan France, the European part of France. They have exactly the same status as mainlan ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

. The

cross-border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ca ...

cooperation between the two countries has enjoyed increased vitality. This cooperation makes it possible to better integrate French Guiana into its geographical environment, to respond to the concerns of both parties about the various cross-border risks, to encourage human exchanges and trade and to develop the economy of the Amazon region, respecting the local populations and extraordinary environment. The granting to France, on the initiative of Brazil, of observer status within the

Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) is an international organization aimed at the promotion of sustainable development of the Amazon Basin. Its member states are: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and ...

, will strengthen this cooperation. The construction of the Oyapock River Bridge over the

Oyapock River The Oyapock or Oiapoque (; ; ) is a long river in South America that forms most of the border between the France, French Overseas departments of France, overseas department of French Guiana and the Brazilian States of Brazil, state of Amapá. ...

, decided during President Lula’s visit to France, will make the

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...

- Macapá road link possible. The bridge was opened in 2017.

History

Since the end of the colonial period, Brazil has to this day retained a heritage of good relations with all

European countries The list below includes all entities falling even partially under any of the various common definitions of Europe, geographical or political. Fifty generally recognised sovereign states, Kosovo with limited, but substantial, international reco ...

.Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on EU-Brazil relations
European Economic and Social Committee. Retrieved on 2009-07-17. The only novel element in the idea of structuring EU-Brazil relations is therefore the EU itself, which embodies, values and wishes to further develop the systematic and ongoing organization of long-standing cooperation between the two areas. Several initiatives have sought to formalize these close links at all levels, beginning with the Framework Agreement for Cooperation between the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...

and Brazil in 1992. On July 4, 2007, the European Union, under Portuguese

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...

, and Brazil held the 1st EU-Brazil summit.EU-Brazil Summit - Lisbon, 4 July 2007

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

. Retrieved on 2009-07-17. The EU and Brazil exchanged views on a number of bilateral, regional and global issues. They agreed to enhance their longstanding bilateral relationship and in particular to reinforce the political dialogue at the highest political level. At the summit, the EU and Brazil established a comprehensive

strategic partnership A strategic partnership (also see strategic alliance) is a relationship between two commercial enterprises, usually formalized by one or more business contracts. A strategic partnership will usually fall short of a legal partnership entity, agency, ...

, based on their close historical, cultural and economic ties. In 2007, Brazil and the EU established an energy partnership.The European Union deepens energy relations with Brazil

. Retrieved on 2009-07-17. The agreement aims to develop bilateral cooperation in areas of common interest, most notably in

biofuels Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...

and other

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

sources,

low-carbon energy Energy system, Energy is sustainability, sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of enviro ...

technologies, and the improvement of

energy efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...

. It will also help both parties work towards increasing joint international action in the field of energy. The 2nd Brazil-European Union summit was held in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

on December 22, 2008, chaired by the

President of Brazil The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...

, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and by the

President of the Council of the European Union The presidency of the Council of the European Union is responsible for the functioning of the Council of the European Union, which is the co-legislator of the EU legislature alongside the European Parliament. It rotates among the member state ...

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

, the

President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The President of the Commission leads a Cabinet of Commissioners, referred to as the College, collectively account ...

, José Manuel Durão Barroso, and Javier Solana, High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy.Second Brazil-European Union Summit Joint Statement Rio de Janeiro, 22 December, 2008
Presidency of the European Commission. Retrieved on 2009-07-17. The leaders discussed global issues, regional situations and the strengthening of EU-Brazil relations. On June 30, 2009, the European Economic and Social Committee and Brazilian Council for Economic and Social Development held the 1st EU-Brazil Civil Society Round Table.First EU-Brazil Round Table
Nieuwsbank. Retrieved on 2009-07-17. The summit discussed the social consequences of the financial crisis as well as

energy resources World energy resources are the estimated maximum capacity for energy production given all available resources on Earth. They can be divided by type into fossil fuel, nuclear fuel and renewable resources. Fossil fuel Remaining reserves of f ...

and

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

Brazil's foreign relations with EU member states

Comparison

References

External links

Brazilian Mission to the European Communities
Official website
Delegation of the European Union in Brazil
Official website
EUBrasil
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brazil-European Union relations Foreign relations of Brazil Third-country relations of the European Union