Ambassador of the European Union to Brazil Ignacio Ybáñez
Ignacio Ybáñez is Ambassador of the European Union to Brazil. He is a Spanish Diplomat and was Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of his country, where he also held the position of Director-General for Foreign Policy and Multilateral Global Affairs and Director-General of Africa, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. In addition, he was Spanish Ambassador to Russia.
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Twitter: @IgnacioYbanez
Welcome message from Ignacio Ybáñez, Ambassador of the European Union to Brazil
Dear Visitor,
Welcome to the website of the Delegation of the European Union to Brazil. I hope the information you will find will help you to better understand the European Union, the importance of our relations with Brazil and the role and activities of the EU Delegation in Brazil.
Brazil is a long-standing strategic partner of the EU and the recent conclusion of the negotiations of the Association Agreement between the EU and Mercosur represents a milestone opportunity for further strengthening the partnership between the EU and Brazil.
The European Union is a unique economic and political partnership between 27 European countries with more than 510 million people speaking 24 official languages, Portuguese among them. It has delivered more than half a century of peace, stability and prosperity. It helped raise living standards on the continent and has built a single Europe-wide market in which people, goods, services, and capital move between Member States of the Union as freely as within a single country. Nineteen of the twenty-eight Member States adopted the Euro as their common currency. These are farfetched achievements, and in fact unprecedented, anywhere in the world.
Today multilateralism and rules-based international system are being questioned, while we all continue to face serious global challenges such as climate change, migration and increasing insecurity worldwide. In these times of uncertainty, in the EU we are convinced that we can offer predictability and work together for multilateralism, international cooperation and an unwavering commitment to peaceful solutions of the many crises around the world.
We have much in common with Brazil, sharing such values as democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, preservation of peace, the quest for sustainable development, the protection of the environment and the fight against climate change. We have so much to gain and benefit from a close partnership on all fronts. Brazil is one of the European Union's main partners and interlocutors in the world, being one of our strategic partners.
The EU and Brazil established diplomatic relations in 1960 building on close historical, cultural, economic and political ties. Bilateral relations have continued to widen and culminated in 2007 with the establishment of Strategic Partnership. Since then, the EU and Brazil have been deepening their relations, focusing on key global challenges as well as on further enhancing our direct ties. The partnership includes various topics such as economic growth, cooperation on key foreign policy issues, human rights, climate change, sustainable development, peace and security, research and innovation, trade and investment. In all these areas, the European Union and Brazilian authorities nurture a formal dialogue and cooperate on specific projects.
I invite you to visit our site frequently in order to get updated information on our numerous activities in Brazil, as well as to familiarize yourselves with the European Union's overall objectives and priorities. I also invite you to follow us on Twitter (@UEnoBrasil), Facebook (@delagacaouebrasil) and Instagram (@uenobrasil) and I am looking forward to your comments and reactions. They will allow us to improve in our mission to promote the common wellbeing.
Thank you for your interest in the European Union.
Ambassador Ignacio Ybáñez
Brasilia, 19 July 2019
Twitter: @IgnacioYbanez
