EU-Brazil Relations in a Time of Crisis: An Assessment of the Fifth EU-Brazil Summit

This paper analyses the results of the 2011 EU-Brazil Summit within the context of the Eurozone crisis, the developments in the Middle East and the emergence of Brazil as a major player on the world stage. It does so through a discourse analysis of the Summit’s conclusion on issues of global, regional and bilateral relevance. The paper argues that developments within the framework of the Strategic Partnership have left a lot to be desired on a practical level, and argues that the reasons for its original inception were mostly related to political objectives rather than strong functional considerations. The paper is divided into three parts. The first reviews the history of the Strategic Partnership; the second seeks to explain the concept and incentives for the 2007 agreement; finally, the third part sheds light on the events surrounding the 2011 Summit and draws conclusions regarding its outcome.