mr president it is already widely acknowledged that brazil has become an increasingly significant regional and global player
the crucial role brazil played in the establishment of unasur is just one more confirmation of the country's reputation and deserves clear recognition as does brazil's endeavour to support and influence the democratic evolution of some countries in latin america
i agree with the rapporteur that brazil and the european union share the same values regarding democracy the rule of law and the promotion of human rights and share the same principles on market economy
therefore it is clear why brazil is a key partner for the european union
for several years brazil has enjoyed an economic growth which i hope will not be too badly affected by the current ravaging economic crisis
unfortunately however the economic development and accumulation of wealth in brazil did not translate into the eradication of poverty
as the report notes brazil still has a high number of poor people and it is a sad reality that the concentration of wealth is based on cultural and racial grounds
it should be emphasised that sixty-five of the poorest brazilians are black or of a mixed ethnicity while eighty-six of the most privileged are white
i appreciated president lula's idea that his government should not fight wealth but poverty
i am convinced that eu support and assistance would be beneficial in trying to put an end to this polarisation between the very poor and the very rich
but in order to do this we need the financial assistance available under the development cooperation instrument for brazil to be used to support the achievement of the millennium development goals and for sustainable development purposes
at the same time the european union needs to continue to focus on the topic of combating deforestation
this is a key issue as brazil has a rich but fragile environment
we need not only to develop strong partnerships but also to coordinate with other donors and have projects that should put words into action as far as the protection of the environment is concerned
our strategic partnership should also support the development of a strong brazilian civil society encouraging contacts between european and brazilian ngos entrepreneurs and businesspeople fora and should promote exchanges on an educational and cultural level
cooperation on higher education under the erasmus mundus programme or other biregional schemes should be viewed as an investment in what is the most precious capital of a country its human resources
