The European Union will establish a strategic partnership with Brazil next month to make the Latin American country the seventh to enjoy the special ties with the 25-nation bloc, an EU envoy said here on Tuesday.

Joao Pacheco, the EU ambassador to Brazil, told a press conference that EU foreign ministers will meet on June 18-19 in Luxemburg to make a decision on the partnership with Brazil.

An EU-Brazil summit will follow on July 4 in the Portuguese capital Lisbon. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will be invited as a special guest to a biofuel forum set for July 5-6 in Brussels, according to the ambassador.

He said Brazil is a regional power with an increasing role to play on the international arena.

The EU-Brazil partnership will further bilateral cooperation in efforts to push ahead the UN reform, check global warming, safeguard world peace and develop substitute fuel, said the ambassador.

The recognition of the importance of Brazil is a reflection of political pragmatism, he said, adding that the EU hopes to boost ties with the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) by forging a strategic partnership with Brazil.

Mercosur, a trade bloc made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, rejects the EU's agricultural subsidies while demanding greater concessions for its products to enter Europe. The two sides have yet to strike a deal after years of negotiation.

The EU has set up strategic partnership with the United States, Canada, China, Russia, India and South Africa. It has a total investment of €80 billion (US$107.464 billion) in Brazil. Up to 22 percent of Brazilian exports are destined for Europe.

(Xinhua News Agency May 30, 2007)