EU, Brazil to enhance cyber security cooperation

The European Union and Brazil have agreed to launch a new EU-Brazil dialogue on international cyber policy at the annual EU-Brazil summit held here on Monday. Addressing a press conference, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy said both the EU and Brazil share the common interest of protecting a "free and open" Internet, which has spurred tremendous economic and social progress. "At the same time, we will continue to enhance data protection and global privacy standards," he said. EU and Brazil have agreed to have the first meeting on cyber security take place during the conference on Internet governance, which Brazil will host in Sao Paulo on April 23-24. They also agreed to construct a new fiber-optic submarine cable, which is connecting Latin America directly with Europe with a hope to make an important contribution to cyber security cooperation. The only existing cable between Europe and Brazil is outdated and only used for voice transmission. Brazil relies on U.S. undersea cables to carry almost all of its communications to Europe. In addition, in this year's Summit, the two sides also launched first-ever dialogue meetings on drug matters and on international peace and security. "We highlighted the importance of a comprehensive approach on the global drug problem and agreed to extend our dialogue to also cover the fight against corruption, money laundering and drug trafficking," Van Rompuy said.