The president of EUBrasil, Luigi Gambardella, is to visit Brazil in the week of April 21 to have a number of meetings and take part in events scheduled with representatives of Brazilian institutions, industry and academy to discuss recent developments in the trade negotiations between the European Union and Mercosur. According to Gambardella, the private sector in Brazil and Europe think the trade agreement is crucial and they will explore ways to support negotiations.
“This is a very delicate moment and we should be very positive, because after years of discussions it seems that the time has come. We are very close to a possible agreement between Mercosur and Europe. Both Brazilian and European private sectors want this agreement. More than that, we need it. We know that it will boost trade and investments between the two regions and we have to do everything we can to make it possible that the agreement goes through. We estimate that an ambitious EU-Mercosur free trade agreement could enhance GDP in the EU by €15-21 billion and by € 2-3 billion for the Mercosur countries”, says Gambardella.
Mercosur is the fourth largest economic grouping in the world (after the EU, NAFTA and ASEAN). Total GDP of the region reaches €1800 billion, more than South Korea, India or Russia. Average annual GDP growth in the block exceeded 5% over the past 7 years. In terms of EU exports, Mercosur ranks on par with India and ahead of both Canada and Korea. EU investments in Mercosur amount to more than €285 billion in 2012, more than EU investments in China, India and Russia combined.
NETMundial
Gambardella will also participate as ETNO Chairman at NETMundial [Global Multistakeholder Meeting on the Future of Internet Governance] on April 23rd and 24th, in Sao Paulo. The meeting has been organised by the Brazilian Government and stakeholders from around the world will gather to develop a global set of Internet governance principles and to propose a roadmap for the future evolution of the Internet governance system.
“We would like to see a stronger cooperation between Brazil and Europe on global issues like internet governance, cyber security, privacy and data protection. Let’s cooperate more on our future rather than look back at our past. Brazil and Europe could be the bridge between US and emerging countries. We should play a much more active role and drive the process. Our objective should be to have the right digital policies in place for the internet”, Gambardella adds.
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