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Brasilia and Sao Paulo), 2 April - 5 April 2013 Committee on Foreign Affairs The Secretariat 8 May 2013 OFFICIAL VISIT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO BRAZIL (Brasilia and Sao Paulo), 2 April - 5 April 2013 MISSION REPORT MAIN FINDINGS Strengthening dialogue with the Brazilian authorities should one of the priorities of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) in the context of the EU strategic partnership and the EU-Brazil joint action plan (2012-2014). There are currently more than 30 on-going dialogues under the EU-BR strategic partnership. A Civil Society Forum and a Business Forum take place every year, back to back with EU- BR Summitt. Yet, a true regular and structured dialogue between the EP and the Brazilian Congress is still missing. Visits of MEPs are numerous but still often ad-hoc and unbalanced with BR visits to Europe. A Parliamentary Forum that could meet before Summits could be a useful tool to structure this dialogue and to improve the EU-BR partnership. In reply to the interest shown by both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate to structure better their dialogue with the European Parliament, reflected also in the Brazil-EU Joint Action Plan for 2012-2014 the AFET delegation urged both houses to come up with a joint initiative and promised that it would be met favourable in the European Parliament. The meetings held with governmental representatives confirmed their commitment, announced at the CELAC Summit in January, to submit a negotiating offer on market access regarding the EU- Mercosul Agreement by the end of the year with due account taken of the electoral deadlines of some key players (Paraguay, Venezuela) and the impact of the last economic crisis (Argentina). These meetings also helped clarify that Brazil was not in favour of pursuing the negotiations separately or making differentiations for each individual participating state. In terms of the follow up that Brazil would give to the proposed structured dialogue on international peace and security our counterparts remained vague rather vague. The discussions on broadening the transatlantic partnership and on the International Community's principle "Responsibility to Protect" (R2P), they were clearly reluctant to engage in operations which which could be perceived on their assessment as interference and a threat to the sovereignty of another state. Brazil clearly objects to R2P being used to pursue a regime change, and tends to identify "transatlantic cooperation" as an extension of NATO. There is clearly a perception gap here and a fundamental misunderstanding of what trilateral cooperation across the Atlantic would mean. This calls for renewed efforts and engagement from the European side to dispel such misrepresentations. B-1047 Brussels - Tel +32 2 28 46086 - Fax +32 2 28 49013 F-67070 Strasbourg - Tel +33 3 88 1 64112 - Fax +33 3 88 1 76902 Interestingly, our Brazilian interlocutors pointed out that the BRICS are for them merely a coordination forum which in no way undermines their strategic partnership with Europe. Brazilians advocate a multi-polar governance system with Brazil entertaining constructive relations with all main global players. In reply to the interest shown by both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate to structure better their dialogue with the European Parliament, reflected also in the Brazil-EU Joint Action Plan for 2012- 2014 the AFET delegation urged both houses to come up with a joint initiative and promised that it would be met favourable in the European Parliament. This increased role for Brazil would come with new responsibilities and obligations to take sides, often in difficult decisions. The question of the economic crisis was often brought to the discussion, allowing Mmebers to clarify some misconceptions and to present the measures taken to overcome it. Main Report 1. debriefing at EU delegation EP President Martin Schulz should have signed an agreement to have a more structured relationship between Parliaments in the context of his visit to the country last November, but the visit was cancelled. Mr Henrique Eduardo Alves, President of the Chamber, plans visit the EP in Strasbourg in May (this is in the meantime been cancelled) and it could be a good occasion to re-launch the initiative. Brazil is incurring in increasingly protectionist practices and remains reluctant to sign new bilateral Association Agreements. Developing its internal market is taking a higher priority and is probably easier than opening Brazilian markets and have Brazilian industrial goods competing also abroad with external goods.. On the agricultural sector however, the situation is the opposite, Brazil is highly competitive and is interested in opening more international markets. Mercosur Talks resumed in 2010 and a commitment to an exchange of offers on market access by the end of the year was reached in Santiago de Chile summit in January 2013, thanks to the personal involvement of President Dilma Rousseff. In any case, Brazil wants a deal that comprises all the Member States in the bloc. The last BRICS summit had taken place just days before in South Africa (Durban). For Brazil, the BRICS bloc is not a substitute for other International Organisations and Brazil wants to keep its current format of meetings without a permanent structure or secretariat. An important outcome of the summit was the proposal to create a BRICS development bank. Brazil is keen on promoting a multi-polar world and is following closely the emerging influence of China and Mexico. Brazil also prefers to develop its relationships with countries in the South hemisphere, something that is also reflected on its sceptical view of NATO. In general, the Foreign Affairs interests of Brazil can be seen as concentric circles of influence: first Mercosur, then UNASUR, then CELAC. It is keen on having a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and works for it with a high number embassies and an extremely prudent approach to intervention in international conflicts. 2. Meeting with the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies, in the Chair, Mr. Nelson Pellegrino, The discussion touched the domestic challenges facing both parties: Europe is still undergoing a period of reforms necessary to tackle the current economic crisis, but despite the recent storm in financial markets the Euro is resisting well and the EU should come out reinforced from the whole process and 2 reforms undertaken.. The EP plays an active role in monitoring economic policies of the Member States, including their fiscal imbalances. Brazil faces challenges such as a low Human Development Index and its high degree of illiteracy. Other strategic aspects of Brazilian policies are the development of Brazilian armed forces and the regional integration for using resources better. Brazilians praised the EU´s achievement of bringing long standing Peace to Europe and expressed that it should be an inspiration for Mercosur. Another topic discussed was the importance of Brazil and the EU as global players and the importance of EU-Brazil cooperation in sectors such as environment, science and technology, transport and the high level dialogue between both sides of the Atlantic. Brazil and the EU share the same democratic values. Dialogues between the EU and Brazil cover already around 30 areas but there is still not a structured dialogue between parliaments, therefore, the possibility to establish a structured dialogue between Parliaments should be further explored. 3. Meeting with Senator Renan Calheiros, President of the Senate and Senator Ricardo Ferraço, Chairman of the External Affairs Committee in the Brazilian Senate. The current activities of the respective Parliaments were reviewed: the Brazilian Senate is very engaged in the micro-economic agenda for structural reform of the Brazilian economy in order to make it more resilient. The relations with other global players such as the EU are of high importance for the Senate and they would be in favour of undertaking concrete steps towards upgrading current relations with the EP. The role and importance of the EP in external relations of the EU was also presented explaining that, for instance, it is in charge of the ratification of Association Agreements. In this context, relationship with Latin America is a priority for the EP. The importance of the compromise for the exchange of offers on market access in the negotiations for an EU-Mercosur Association Agreement was highlighted. Parliamentarians discussed also other areas for which potential for closer cooperation between the EU and Brazil, such as the management of the economic global slowdown, the reform of the International Financial Institutions and other topics on the international agenda. The delegation Chair also invited Senators to work on a structured dialogue between the two parliaments and the Senators informed that a special committee had been created in the Senate for this purpose. 4. Meeting with MP André Vargas, acting President of the Chamber of Deputies (1st VP). The discussion highlighted the common values and often the similar positions of Brazil and the EU on topics such as climate change, human rights, drugs trafficking etc. On this basis, closer cooperation between both parties is possible. A possible agreement with Mercosur would intensify bilateral economic ties, which are already important with some EU Members States. Brazil is working to overcome the obstacles impeding the Agreement. In this sense, although negotiations cover sensitive areas, these are a relatively small share of all the products which could be liberalized. Other association agreements signed by the EU have brought forward important gains, such as those with Mexico and Chile (or the more recent with Central America). Even admitting that in the process, some Member States could try to protect specific sectors, the potential for gains is enormous, Brazilian deputies expressed the importance for Brazil of reinforcing their existing ties also with their neighbours and the relations that already maintain with their parliaments.
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