EU and Brazil hold "historic" summit for privileged partnership

Jul 4, 2007, 16:47 GMT

Lisbon - The European Union (EU) and Brazil met Wednesday in Lisbon for their first summit, aimed at establishing a privileged partnership.

'This is a historic step,' said Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency.

Socrates and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso hosted the meeting attended by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana and External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

Portugal spent nine months preparing the summit at which the EU and Brazil were to sign a strategic association agreement.

It will place Brazil on a par with other privileged partners of the EU, such as China, India, the United States or Russia.

The EU cannot afford to ignore the growing economic and political weight of the Portuguese-speaking Latin American giant, according to Portuguese sources.

The summit was to discuss a wide range of subjects from multilateral trade to human rights.

Brazil wants the EU to cut farm subsidies, while the EU is seeking a closer cooperation with the Latin American trade bloc Mercosur and takes an interest in Brazil's experiences in developing sources of alternative energy.

Before the summit, Lula da Silva attended a meeting of Brazilian and EU entrepreneurs. The summit was scheduled to be followed by a gala dinner attended by heads of state or government from EU countries including Spain, France, Italy and Slovenia.