EU, Brazil achieve privileged partnership, sign deal (Roundup)

Jul 4, 2007, 23:47 GMT

Lisbon - The European Union (EU) and Brazil established a privileged partnership Wednesday, signing an agreement in Lisbon at their first-ever summit.

'This is a historic step,' said Prime Minister Jose Socrates of Portugal, which took over the rotating EU presidency Sunday for a six-month term.

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, where the EU and Brazil signed the strategic association agreement.

It places Brazil on a level with other privileged partners of the EU including China, India, the United States and Russia.

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

The summit agenda includes a wide range of subjects from multilateral trade to human rights. Both sides are seeking stronger cooperation on climate change and United Nations structural reform.

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

Before the summit, Lula attended a meeting of Brazilian and EU entrepreneurs.