European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Commissioner Jozef Síkela at the 2nd EU-Brazil Investment Forum Brasilia, 23 June 2026 Minister Dweck, Minister Rosa, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. Bom Dia! This is my first time visiting Brazil… Over the past few days, I've travelled to São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and now… Brasília. I've only scratched the surface of this vast...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Commissioner Jozef Síkela at the 2nd EU-Brazil Investment Forum Brasilia, 23 June 2026 Minister Dweck, Minister Rosa, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen. Bom Dia! This is my first time visiting Brazil… Over the past few days, I've travelled to São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and now… Brasília. I've only scratched the surface of this vast country, but I already have a sense of its diversity. The energy of its cities, the stunning nature, and the dynamism of its people. It's no wonder Brazil is a global powerhouse. Soon, home to the world's 10th largest economy... Home to 213 million people... Home to about 60% of the Amazon rainforest... And perhaps most importantly - at least today - home to the most successful football nation in World Cup history! I experienced one of the matches in a bar in São Paulo, and I truly enjoyed the enthusiasm felt all around me. As some of you know, I come from the Czech Republic, a nation of about 10 million people in the heart of Europe. And Brazil and Czechia have a special connection. Nearly a century ago, President Getúlio Vargas invited a Czech entrepreneur to Brazil. His name was Jan Antonín Baťa. The Baťa family, who built their business around their workers and the towns they lived in, are probably the most famous entrepreneurs in my country's history. He came to build, and to serve Brazil's own ambition. And he built towns. Real towns, with factories and farms, schools and homes, where families could work and put down roots. They are still on the map today. Batayporã. Bataguassu. Batatuba. They carry his name because the people who live there chose to keep it. Baťa stayed. He became Brazilian. He died in one of the towns he had founded, in the state of São Paulo. I mention this because it is a very good example of a lasting, meaningful partnership. He came at Brazil's invitation. He created jobs, factories, whole towns. An impact that still lasts. That is the kind of partnership I want to speak about today. Partnership with benefits for both sides. Lasting impact. Shared priorities. I come here today on behalf of the EU, which is unique in its own right, the world's second largest economy, spanning 27 different countries and an 18-trillion-euro single market. And I am here for one reason – to make the EU-Brazil partnership stronger. This is no small thing. Because these days, partnership does not mean the same thing to everyone. Over the past year we've seen values virtually disappear from global political debates. Cooperation based on rules and mutual benefit is often replaced with transactionalism – countries looking for quick wins rather than long-term alliances. This "me-first" approach benefits few. And it makes it harder to address the challenges that truly matter – like instability, inequalities, and climate change. These challenges affect us all. And they can only be addressed through reliable partnerships. That is the spirit that has guided relations between Brazil and the EU for more than 30 years. We are Brazil's second largest trade partner, accounting for almost 50% of foreign direct investment here. We share a strong commitment to democracy, multilateralism, and climate action. Let me tell you more about Global Gateway, the strategy through which we invest in partnerships around the world. Instead of extractive models or short-term commercial gains, we invest in productive capacity, local value creation, and long-term prosperity. It is rooted in mutual benefit – creating lasting value in partner countries and Europe alike. If that sounds familiar, it should. It is what Baťa did when Brazil called him, brought into our century: we build where the resources are, we create the jobs and the value together with our partners, and we stay for the long term. Through innovative financing and guarantees, we mobilise private investment in regions that need it most. In 2023, we signed a 10-billion-euro Global Gateway investment package in Latin America and the Caribbean. Here in Brazil, it's taking shape in many ambitious projects. Last week, I visited the construction site for Metro Line 6 in São Paulo. This project captures the best of Team Europe. It's currently the largest public-private infrastructure project under development in Latin America, built jointly by companies from Spain, France and Germany. But the project is about more than tracks and tunnels. Known as the "University Line," it will cut travel times for commuters, reduce emissions, and open doors to jobs and education. During the construction period alone, it will generate 9,000 jobs. And once completed, it's expected to serve over 630,000 passengers per day. Metro Line 6 shows our advanced engineering, our high sustainability standards, and our focus on creating jobs for local people. And we are ready to finance its further expansion by another 7 kilometres, with exactly the same approach. Turning to another important sector… I don't have to remind you that Brazil holds some of the most important minerals and elements for the clean and digital transitions. However, the value behind these materials does not lie in the mine, but in the processing that comes later. Too often, during my travels to resource-rich countries, I've seen piles of valuable critical raw materials in ports, ready to be shipped abroad. Unprocessed. I truly appreciate your ambition to do it differently. And with Global Gateway, we are ready to support that ambition to build truly sustainable value chains. Unlike other actors, we don't just invest in extraction. We also invest in local processing, refining, and recycling. We share technology, offer regulatory support, provide technical assistance, and train people for the jobs of the future. We explore renewable energy use as part of the industrial process, reducing environmental impacts. Last year, we created an EU-Brazil Critical Raw Materials Task Force to jointly identify and develop projects. Today I am happy to say that 4 priority investments are advancing successfully towards financing and offtake agreements with European partners. This is the kind of partnership we need. Partnership that boosts resilience on both sides of the Atlantic and supports global diversification. Ladies and gentlemen, let me now speak about some examples of what we have already achieved together. Today, here at this forum, we are launching new investments that strengthen digital connectivity, deepen our cooperation on clean energy, and help protect the Amazon. The main one is a new Global Gateway investment of more than 260 million euros in EllaLink, the direct high-capacity fibre-optic link between Europe and Latin America. EllaLink is secure, fast and open connection. We are extending it into Pará and Maranhão, with links onward towards French Guiana and the Caribbean. I would like to thank the partners who made this investment possible together with us, our partner financial institutions, the French development agency AFD and the Inter-American Development Bank. We are also moving further on clean energy, specifically renewable hydrogen. Brazil has everything it needs to lead in this sector: renewable energy, industrial capacity, and strategic ports. Our project, the North-East Green Energy Park, can turn that potential into new opportunities for the local economy: hydrogen, ammonia, green steel, and shipping corridors to Europe. But between a good idea and a project a bank will finance, there are many steps that often stop the private sector from investing. Through H2Uppp, with GIZ, we are financing projects that bridge this gap. Nine projects came out of the first phase, and today we take it to the next phase. These are just some examples of the potential that the EU-Brazil partnership holds. Supercomputing. Green shipping corridors. Microfinancing for women-led businesses… The potential of our partnership is enormous. With the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, we're taking it even further. During this period of global shocks and trade wars, we have laid the groundwork for stability and shared prosperity. It eliminates tariffs on most goods, creating a predictable market of more than 700 million consumers. And it upholds the highest environmental and social standards. But agreements are just the start. I am here to turn it into bankable Global Gateway investments. And this brings me back to all of you. I cannot overstate the importance of the private sector in this effort. Businesses – large and small – are key stakeholders in Global Gateway. From clean energy companies to tech startups, the private sector brings the expertise, investment, and agility needed to implement and scale these initiatives. The EU is here to support your efforts. We're using financial tools to derisk investment. We're strengthening institutions to create good conditions for doing business. We're providing political backing. And our new Global Gateway Investment Hub makes it easier for you to engage, from project origination to delivery. As Team Europe, we worked hard to put together this Second EU-Brazil Investment Forum. Here in the room are the innovators and leaders – from both Brazil and the EU – who can turn ideas into opportunities, and investments into growth, security, and jobs. My ask to you is simple: consider this forum a space where real deals can happen. This room is full of potential. And you are the ones who can turn it into concrete investments. Thank you. SPEECH/26/1442
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