European Parliament 2014-2019 Delegation for Relations with the Federative Republic of Brazil 11.1.2016 REPORT BY THE CHAIR, PAULO RANGEL, ON THE VISIT TO BRAZIL (BELO HORIZONTE AND BRASILIA) 2-6 NOVEMBER 2015 CR\1084792EN.doc PE506.931v02-00 EN United in diversity EN I INTRODUCTION A group from the Delegation for Relations with the Federative Republic of Brazil (D-BR) visited Brazil (Belo Horizonte and Brasilia) from 2 to 6 November 2015. The group, led by the Chair of the D-BR, Paulo RANGEL MEP (PPE, Portugal), also included the first Vice-Chair of the D-BR, António MARINHO e PINTO MEP (ALDE, Portugal), the second Vice-Chair of the D-BR, Carlos ZORRINHO MEP (S&D, Portugal), Ashley FOX MEP (ECR, UK) and Inês ZUBER MEP (GUE/NGL, Portugal). II BRASILIA (4-6 November 2015) 1. Interparliamentary meetings 1.1. Meeting with Senator Aloysio Nunes Ferreira of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Chair of the Foreign Relations and National Defence Committee of the Federal Senate of Brazil After the traditional greetings had been extended and the group members had introduced themselves, Senators Aloysio Ferreira, Agripino Maia, Flexa Ribeiro, Ana Amélia Lemos and the European representatives exchanged information on the following subjects: the creation of the Delegation for Relations with the Federative Republic of Brazil (D-BR), which was a reflection of Brazil’s growing international importance; a proposal put forward by the MEPs that the Brazilian Congress should create a specialised body as a counterpart to the D- BR, with a view to forging closer bonds with the EP; the prospects for the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP 21) and possibilities for EU-Brazil cooperation; concern regarding threats to democracy in some Latin American countries, particularly Venezuela; the changing situation in Cuba; the upcoming Argentinian elections and their repercussions on the EU- Mercosur negotiations; the political situation in Brazil (corruption problems, social unrest, the economic crisis and prospects for the 2018 elections) and Brazil’s readiness to take in a significant number of refugees from the Middle East. The following spoke: Paulo Rangel, António Marinho e Pinto, Carlos Zorrinho, Ashley Fox and Inês Zuber. 1.2. Meeting with Jô Moraes of the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), Chair of the Foreign Relations and National Defence Committee of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies The Chair of the Foreign Relations and National Defence Committee of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, Jô Moraes, accompanied by MPs Eduardo Barbosa and Bruna Furlan, welcomed the European visitors. Paulo Rangel discussed the negotiations between the European Union and Mercosur on concluding the Association Agreement. He also reiterated Parliament’s interest in establishing regular, structured dialogue with a specialised body set up within the Brazilian Congress. The Brazilian MPs expressed concern about the current political environment in Brazil, particularly in Congress, which echoed the country’s problems, and they asked their European counterparts about the migration phenomenon in Europe. PE506.931v02-00 2/22 CR\1084792EN.doc EN The following spoke: Paulo Rangel, António Marinho e Pinto, Carlos Zorrinho, Ashley Fox and Inês Zuber. 1.3. Meeting with Senator Roberto Requião of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), Chair of the Brazilian Representation to the Mercosur Parliament (Parlasur) and Co-President of the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EuroLat) The meeting with Senator Requião was attended by Ramón Jauregui, the European Co- President of EuroLat, who was also in Brasilia. After the host had welcomed the European representatives, an exchange of views took place on the following subjects: the situation of the EU-Mercosur negotiations on the possible signing of an association agreement between the two regional blocs; the risks of Mercosur’s isolation in light of competition from the growing number of free trade agreements that have already been signed (the Trans-Pacific Partnership) or are in the process of being signed (the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – TTIP), and the role of the Mercosur Parliament (Parlasur). The following spoke: Paulo Rangel, Ramón Jauregui (Co-President of EuroLat) António Marinho e Pinto, Carlos Zorrinho, Ashley Fox and Inês Zuber. 1.4. Meeting with Senator Aécio Neves of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) Senator Aécio Neves started by welcoming the MEPs and the Head of the European Union Delegation, Ambassador João Cravinho, whom he congratulated on his recent accreditation with the Brazilian authorities. Regarding the political situation in Brazil, he took the view that the government had lost credibility and that the process of impeaching the president had constitutional legitimacy, and he expressed regret that Brazil had not yet played the genuinely leading role in Mercosur that it ought to be playing. He considered the government’s position on the tragic situation in Venezuela emblematic of this, but nevertheless hoped that it would be possible for the December elections to take place peacefully and transparently. Senator Neves expressed his interest in a possible EU-Mercosur Association Agreement, which would doubtless have been one of his government’s priorities had he won the presidential elections. Finally, the Senator praised the role of parliamentary diplomacy. For his part, Paulo Rangel stressed the need to create a Congress Delegation for EU Relations that would be similar to Parliament’s D-BR. The following spoke: Paulo Rangel, António Marinho e Pinto, Carlos Zorrinho, Ashley Fox and Inês Zuber. 1.5. Working lunch with Eduardo Barbosa, Chair of the Brazil-EU Parliamentary Friendship Group Eduardo Barbosa, Chair of the Brazil-EU Parliamentary Friendship Group, invited the European representatives to lunch on Wednesday, 4 November 2015. During the meal, the attendees addressed topics including the future exchange of offers in the context of EU- CR\1084792EN.doc 3/22 PE506.931v02-00 EN Mercosur negotiations on a possible association agreement and the need to establish regular, structured dialogue between the Brazilian Congress and the EP. 2. Meetings with the Brazilian Government 2.1. Meeting with Nilma Lino Gomes, Minister for Racial Equality, Women and Human Rights Ms Gomes welcomed the European representatives and explained that her ministry was very new, as it was the result of a merger of the women, racial equality and human rights portfolios. Politicians had made major progress in those areas in recent years by adopting ad hoc public polices throughout the country. The participation of civil society had been essential to these policies. The dominant culture of violence ought to lead gradually to a culture of peace. As concerned women, she noted that, despite the many difficulties caused by traditional machismo and conservatism, whose advocates remained opposed to women-friendly policies, particularly with regard to abortion, shelters for women, victims of mistreatment and even parliamentary parity, Congress had continued to achieve successes in improving the position of women, thanks to social programmes such as {i>Bolsa Família<i} and {i>Minha Casa, Minha Vida<i}, and to steps to improve women’s education. Finally, in the area of racial equality, Ms Gomes took the view that there had also been progress towards preventing discrimination by means of the law on quotas regarding access to higher education for black and indigenous people and competitive civil service entrance examinations. Paulo Rangel spoke. 2.2. Meeting with Fernando Furlan, Secretary of State (Minister for Development, Industry and Foreign Trade) The Secretary of State set out his views on Brazil’s position in the world and relations with the European Union. His desire to incorporate Brazil into the global economy went beyond trade and foreign direct investment. He stated that it was a promising time for EU-Brazil relations. With regard to EU-Mercosur negotiations on an association agreement, the Brazilian Government had been working to bring to fruition an exchange of market access offers, which was likely to include around 100 000 items (goods, services, investment and government procurement). The offer had already been set out. It took account of the 2013 decision by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and exceeded that of 2004, covering 87 % of possible items. The exchange of offers, which was likely to take place quickly, would not mean the end of the negotiation process. It would enable products still not included to be identified and allow negotiations to continue until the agreement was concluded. Mr Furlan concluded by stating that the breakdown of negotiations in 2004 had created psychological barriers between Mercosur and the EU. However, the situation of the two blocs had changed in the 12 years since then. Uruguay, which would hold the rotating Presidency of Mercosur from 1 January 2016, would spare no efforts to ensure that EU-Mercosur negotiations were concluded successfully. The following spoke: Paulo Rangel and Ashley Fox. PE506.931v02-00 4/22 CR\1084792EN.doc EN 2.3. Meeting with Mauro Vieira, Minister for Foreign Relations Mauro Vieira, accompanied by Fernando Magalhães and João Carlos de Sousa, welcomed the members of the D-BR. Mr Vieira spoke first about the domestic situation in Brazil and then about EU-Brazil relations. He stated that Brazil had experienced considerable socioeconomic development over the years, as a consequence of effective social inclusion policies in the areas of education, health and housing, and of the adoption of consistent economic and fiscal policies. In relation to foreign policy, the Brazilian Government observed the following principles: advocating multilateralism, supporting Latin American regional integration and not interfering in the affairs of other countries. Mr Vieira stressed the importance of EU-Brazil relations. He recalled the common values that united the two partners and reiterated the government’s support for an EU-Mercosur Association Agreement, which was a priority for both the government and the private sector.