VZCZCXRO4814
RR RUEHRG
DE RUEHRI #0346 3591704
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241704Z DEC 08
FM AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4729
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 1055
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 5218
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 3485
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0037

UNCLAS RIO DE JANEIRO 000346 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PARM ENRG EPET SENV FR RS EU BR
SUBJECT: READOUT OF BRAZIL-EU SUMMIT, DECEMBER 22-23, 2008 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary:  Brazilian President Lula hosted the second 
European Union (EU) - Brazil Summit in Rio de Janeiro on December 
22-23, 2008.  The EU was represented by French President Nicolas 
Sarkozy and EU Commission President Jose Manuel Durao Barroso.  The 
international financial and economic crisis was a central topic of 
discussion, with Brazil and the EU agreeing to cooperate towards a 
common position at the next G-20 summit meeting in London on April 
 
¶2.  (U) Sarkozy and Lula also signed a defense cooperation agreement 
and reached agreement to sell Brazil 50 military helicopters and 
five submarines, including one intended to be nuclear-powered. 
During the summit, Sarkozy expressed support for Brazil's bid for a 
permanent seat on the UN Security Council.   End Summary. 
 
EU-BRAZIL COMMON POSITION FOR NEXT G-20 SUMMIT? 
 
¶2.  (U) After a commercial roundtable, Presidents Sarkozy and Lula 
together with EU Commissioner Barroso met to discuss the developing 
EU-Brazil strategic partnership.  Later, Sarkozy announced that they 
had agreed to take a common position dealing with the global 
financial crisis at the next G-20 summit in London on April 2.  "We 
decided with President Lula that things must change and change 
profoundly...we decided to narrow our positions and arrive in London 
with a common vision, on the future role of the IMF, the system of 
management of financial institutions...we cannot allow a single 
financial institution to be uncontrolled or unsupervised," Sarkozy 
said.  No further details were made available on the specific G-20 
proposals they were considering.  Based on a review of the released 
Summit declarations, it appears that Brazil and the EU have only 
committed to working together to address the crisis and develop 
solutions rather than to actually taking joint positions. 
 
BRAZIL ACQUIRES MILITARY HARDWARE FOR NEW DEFENSE STRATEGY 
 
¶3.  (U) Lula and Sarkozy signed a $11 billion arms deal which 
includes the transfer of technology from France to help build five 
submarines, including the hull of what Brazil hopes will be Latin 
America's first nuclear-powered submarine.  Under the terms, France 
will build five submarines at a new shipyard to be built in Itaguai, 
an industrial zone near Rio de Janeiro.  The deal also includes an 
agreement for Brazil to purchase 50 Sugar Cougar transport 
helicopters to be built by Helibras, Eurocopter's subsidiary in 
Brazil (Eurocopter is the helicopter subsidiary of European 
aerospace group EADS).  The helicopters will be assembled in 
Itaguja, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, and are expected to 
create 400 jobs. 
 
¶4.  (U) The military hardware deal comes one week after President 
Lula unveiled a comprehensive new defense strategy that would 
restructure Brazil's military and provide support for Brazil's 
defense industries.  Last month during a visit to Brazil by Russian 
Presidnet Dmitry Medvedev, Brazil signed a deal to buy 12 Mi-35M 
attack helicopters.  These purchases, however, were negotiated prior 
to the drafting of the new strategy paper. 
 
OTHER AGENDA ITEMS 
 
¶5.  (U) The Summit addressed, more broadly, the desire of Brazil and 
the EU to develop a closer relationship.  Sarkozy's public statement 
of French support for Brazil's bid for a permanent seat on the UN 
Security Council was well received.  Additional agreements were 
signed on aerospace, the environment, and education.  France and 
Brazil also agreed to cooperate on combating illegal gold 
exploration.  They will also cooperate on new hydroelectric projects 
in the Amazon region. 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Though Sarkozy's comments referred to an agreement for a 
common G20 position, the official summit statements do not 
explicitly commit to a joint position.  Rather, Brazil and the EU 
have committed to work together to address the crisis and develop 
solutions.  The summit statements don't concretely commit money or 
launch any big initiatives, but promise to keep talking and looking 
at areas of common interest.  Of note, however, is how differently 
Brazil approaches France and the U.S.  The Brazilians signed a 
defense cooperation agreement with France, the same kind of 
agreement they have refused to act on for several years with the US. 
 Sarkozy also said that protecting the Amazon is a task for all 
humanity -- this did not create the same furor as it did when an 
American said something along the same lines. 
 
¶7.  (U) This message has been cleared by Embassy Brasilia. 
 
 
MARTINEZ