Relationship Between Brazil and Eu

DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR EXTERNAL POLICIES OF THE UNION DIRECTORATE B - POLICY DEPARTMENT -

NOTE ON THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SITUATION OF BRAZIL AND ITS RELATIONS WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION

Contents: Over two years since President Luís Inácio da Silva, known as "Lula", came to power, the economic policy of the Brazilian government has reassured national and international economic sectors, but 59 million Brazilians still live on less than two dollars a day. President da Silva secured a second term in a landslide election victory in October 2006. He promised to boost economic growth and to narrow the gap between rich and poor. But with a weakened presence in congress, his left-wing Workers' Party have to rely on political alliances to pursue planned tax, social security and political reforms. With regard to EU/Brazil relations, talks on the EU/Mercosur association agreement are still, unfortunately, at an impasse. Any opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament

FOR EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT INTERNAL USE ONLY DGExPo/B/PolDep/Note/2007_200 October 2007 EN
PE 397.081

DMER/NT/692067ES

This note was requested by the European Parliament's Delegation for relations with Mercosur. This document has been published in the following languages: English Author: Pedro Neves

Manuscript completed in October 2007. To obtain copies, please contact: pedro.neves@europarl.europa.eu

Brussels, European Parliament, October 2007

Sources: Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) European Commission Eurostat Global Insight Oxford Analytica Reuters

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CONTENTS Page

I. II. III.

POLITICAL SITUATION ...................................................................................................4 ECONOMIC SITUATION.................................................................................................16 EU/BRAZIL... [continues]

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