By Xinhua
Lisbon : Leaders from the European Union (EU) and Brazil have resolved to enhance cooperation on issues of common interest at the conclusion of a one-day summit here Wednesday.
The summit, the first between the two sides, made Brazil the seventh strategic partner of the 27-member EU, after the US, Canada, China, Japan, India and South Africa.
The summit was of great importance as Brazil will serve as the "path" to the establishment of a strategic cooperation plan between the EU and Latin American countries, Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, said at a joint press conference.
Socrates said the summit also sent "a positive signal" to the re-launching of the Doha round of World Trade Organization talks, which has been shelved due to disagreement on farm subsidies.
"It is still possible to save Doha. Brazil and the EU want to save Doha … A deal is still possible," Socrates said.
Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva said farm subsidies practiced in rich countries like the US have undermined the interest of developing countries, but a win-win solution could be found to revive the talks.
When talking about biofuel and global warming, the Brazilian president said biofuel was an alternative energy source and would help to reduce carbon emissions.
Brazil has immense potential and offers one of the biggest responses to fighting climate change, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said.
"The European Union and Brazil will work together in this field and we should consider collaborating to create a scheme for the 2012 post-Kyoto era," Barroso added.