Since 2007, Brazil and the EU have been strategic partners and have held annual summits. In line with the EU’s recommendation to improve its strategic partnerships, this workshop will explore the opportunities to strengthen relations, particularly in the field of development. The presidency of Dilma Rousseff offers a window of opportunity for the EU to intensify cooperation with Brazil, a rising power that is becoming increasingly important as a global trader, investor and donor across world regions. This event assessed Brazil’s current foreign and development policy orientations in order to identify priorities for European engagement with Brazil toward 2015 and beyond.

The first session examined Brazil’s role in the diversifying development cooperation landscape, outlining key trends and priorities in development assistance provision, commonalities and differences with EU and other donors, and discussed prospects for the future. The possibilities for increasing cooperation between European development actors and the Brazilian government through trilateral cooperation in third countries had also been explored (particularly in Africa). Avenues for deepened cooperation outside of the trilateral cooperation format were also considered.

A final session deliberated on strategies for the EU in engaging with Brazil as a foreign policy actor more broadly and particularly on the global stage. Here the assessment of how the EU can build a stronger partnership with Brazil in issue areas such as energy cooperation, responding to the climate challenge, and global trade liberalisation had been key focal points for discussion.

This event was organised under the umbrella of the European Development Cooperation to 2020 (EDC 2020) research programme (http://www.edc2020.eu), and was convened jointly by DIE and FRIDE, Madrid.