Seminar brought together FGV directors and board members, public authorities and experts to discuss the Brazil–EU alliance in a global context of uncertainty.
On the morning of 8 December, in Rio de Janeiro, Fundação Getulio Vargas welcomed Member of the European Parliament Ana Miguel Pedro for the event “Brazil and the European Union: Strategic Cooperation in a Changing World.” The MEP offered timely reflections on the Brazil–EU alliance, with a focus on defense, ports and economic growth.
In the opening remarks, Sara Pais, Manager for International Affairs at FGV Europe, emphasized that Brazil and the European Union share not only a long-standing partnership, but also a common responsibility to advance sustainable development, innovation and the defense of democratic values. “Spaces like this seminar are essential to fostering understanding, cooperation and joint solutions. This is our second meeting, after the first held in Brussels, at the European Parliament, on 16 October, during the inauguration seminar of FGV Europe’s new office,” she noted.
FGV Europe has been the institutional representation of Fundação Getulio Vargas in Europe since 2016. Established as a German company, it is headquartered in Cologne and recently opened an office in Brussels.
FGV President, Prof. Carlos Ivan Simonsen Leal, underscored the importance of the event, held just days before the possible conclusion of the EU–Mercosur agreement, under negotiation for 20 years.
“This agreement is often seen only from the trade perspective, but it goes far beyond that: it may help lay a path of stability in a world marked by crises, the war in Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East and risks in the South China Sea. When we speak of a cooperation agreement of this magnitude, we are doing something outside the standard of today’s turbulence,” he explained.
Global challenges and opportunities for Brazil
Ana Miguel Pedro, MEP, highlighted the relevance of the agreement at a historic moment of uncertainty:
“The European Union is going through one of the most complex periods in its contemporary history: for over four years it has faced the largest war since 1945, a conflict that reopens historical wounds and brings collective security back to the center of politics.”
For the MEP, issues such as defense and artificial intelligence require urgent dialogue:
“European defense has ceased to be merely a political chapter and has become a condition for survival. At the same time, transnational networks of organized crime now operate at an unprecedented scale, rivaling states, with vast financial resources, sophisticated technology and global logistics, infiltrating both physical and digital borders.”
MEP Ana Miguel Pedro, also warned of the impacts of the energy and digital transition, accelerated by artificial intelligence:
“Whoever masters AI will lead a substantial part of the global economy and the rules governing cyberspace,” she stated, drawing attention to ethical and systemic risks such as mass disinformation and the concentration of power in malicious actors.
In the field of defense, Ana Miguel Pedro emphasized Brazil’s strategic role:
“Brazil emerges not as a client, but as a strategic industrial partner. Its defense industrial base represents 3.8% of GDP, employs around 300,000 people and exports to more than 65 countries. Examples such as Embraer’s KC-390 illustrate real interoperability.”
Although there is no formal defense cooperation instrument between the European Union and Brazil, the MEP sees a clear opportunity:
“We share common values, have sectoral dialogues in more than 30 areas, and enjoy mutual trust. In a more competitive and technological world, geography is no longer a border — it is a shared destiny. Across the North and South Atlantic, we can build a new industrial security architecture based on a vision for the future. There will be no Atlantic security without cooperation between us.”
Research and innovation on the agenda
Following the MEP’s address, Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida, Coordinator of the Centre for Global Law and of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at FGV Direito Rio, presented research projects on sustainability and international regulation.
“Our goal is to contribute to the development of evidence-based public policies. The center’s research employs mixed methods, combining quantitative and qualitative approaches to create a channel of dialogue between society, academia and policymakers,” she explained.
Among the projects, she highlighted a study on the impacts of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which resulted in analytical reports and policy briefs to guide stakeholders on obligations, challenges and opportunities for Brazil.
“We developed a monitoring platform to identify impacts in Brazil, initially focusing on the coffee sector and now expanding to other affected sectors,” she added.
Institutional engagement
The seminar brought together FGV directors, who attended MEP Ana Miguel Pedro’s presentation and contributed with questions and comments that enriched the debate, reinforcing the shared commitment to deepening the strategic partnership between Brazil and the European Union.
Notable participants included:
Jan Freigang, Consul General of Germany in Rio de Janeiro; Antonio José Campos Moreira, Prosecutor General of the State of Rio de Janeiro; Marfan Martins Vieira, Public Prosecutor and former Prosecutor General of the State of Rio de Janeiro; Gilberto Prado and José Carlos Murta Ribeiro, Members of the FGV Board of Directors; Décio Freire, FGV Legal Affairs; Antonio Freitas, Provost for Education, Research and Graduate Studies, FGV Provost’s Office; Sergio Guerra, Director of FGV Direito Rio; Antonio Porto, Vice Director of FGV Direito Rio; Rômulo Sampaio, Professor at FGV Direito Rio; Rubens Cysne, Director of EPGE; Carlos Otávio de Vasconcellos Quintella, Director of FGV Energia; Luiz Carlos Duque, Director of FGV Projetos; Luiz Gustavo M. Barbosa, Executive Manager, FGV Projetos; Andre Coelho, Project Coordinator, FGV Projetos; Andrea Valente, Project Consultant; Celso Castro, Director of CPDOC; Goret Pereira Paulo, Director of the Applied Research Network; and the FGV Europe team: Francisco Torres, Associate Director; Marco Savério Ristuccia, Senior Project Coordinator; Andrea Raccichini, Project Analyst; Letícia Nogueira, Quality Manager; Mariana Fleischhauer Corrêa da Costa, Germany Office Manager; as well as other FGV colleagues.
The seminar was supported by FGV Direito Rio, the Centre for Global Law, and the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence.
Watch the seminar recording on YouTube