EURAXESS Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)

Legal Framework

EU-Brazil cooperation relations are based on the 1992 Framework Co-operation Agreement signed in June 1992 and ratified by the Brazilian Congress in May 1995. In 2007, the EU recognised Brazil as one of its key global partners through the establishment of the formal EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership.

Academic cooperation

Between 2007 and 2013, the EU and Brazil promoted academic cooperation between European and Brazilian higher education institutions. For 2014 to 2020, the EU has made €163 million available for regional cooperation with Latin America in higher education inside Erasmus+.

EU-Brazil Science and Technology Agreement

Brazil and Europe have a long research cooperation tradition in the area of Science & Technology culminating in the signing in 2004 of the Agreement for scientific and technological cooperation. The agreement entered in force in 2007 and aims at encouraging, developing and facilitating cooperative activities in areas of common interest by carrying out and supporting scientific and technological research and development activities.

The implementation of the cooperation agreement is managed by a joint steering committee which meets on a regular basis and has as main tasks to indicate priority sectors of mutual interests and advise on ways to improve cooperation.

The final declaration of the 6th EU-Brazil Summit, held in 2014, highlighted the fact that competitiveness, innovation and economic growth cannot be achieved without strengthening cooperation in science and technology.

The main areas of scientific cooperation are:

• Marine Research
• Health
• Bio-economy
• Transport, including aviation
• Energy (in particular advanced biofuels)
• Nanotechnology
• Sustainable urbanisation and environmental research
• Information and Communication Technologies
• Fusion Energy
• Cooperation with the Joint Research Centre.

Other cooperation agreements

EURATOM

The Agreement for Cooperation between the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and Brazil set in 2009 in the field of fusion energy research was ratified in December 2012 and came into force in January 2013.

Joint Research Centre - JRC

In the context of the 6th EU-Brazil Summit held in Brasí­lia in January 2013, a Cooperation Arrangement was signed between the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) to undertake training and cooperation activities in the areas of disaster prevention and crisis management; climate change and sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystem services; energy, including bioenergy and smart grids; food security; bioeconomy; information and communication technologies (ICT), as well as nanotechnologies.

Implementing Arrangement between the European Commission and the Brazilian National Council of the State Funding Agencies (CONFAP)

The implementing arrangement was signed and entered into force on 13 October 2016. It aims at encouraging the best Brazilian scientists to join research teams funded by the European Research Council (ERC).

Under this arrangement, Brazilian post-doctoral grantees from the State Funding Agencies (FAPs), from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) and from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) can undertake short or long term research visits, in Europe, and collaborate with ERC-funded teams, conducting frontier research across Europe.

Short- and long-term mobility of researchers both ways is an important driver of the EU-Brazil and EU-LAC research and innovation partnerships.

Individual researchers can take part in mobility programmes under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions scheme (MSCA). Researchers from Latin America and the Caribbean may also apply for the European Research Council (ERC) grants, which are for the most ambitious and highest quality researchers.

Additional opportunities open to researchers from Argentina, Brazil and Mexico: Argentinian, Brazilian and Mexican authorities signed implementing arrangements with the European Commission to allow (postdoctoral) researchers to temporarily join research teams run by ERC-grantees to conduct frontier research activities in Europe.

=> read the short guides we prepared for LAC researchers and institutions, and discover how you can benefit from MSCA and ERC.

Many other institutions and agencies from EU member states and associated countries, third countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and other LAC countries as well as international foundations also fund researchers mobility.

To support your mobility projects, every two months we highlight around 100 schemes to support researcher collaboration, exchange, or mobility in our list of funding opportunities. These schemes are available on EURAXESS Funding database and in our regular Flashnotes. Register to receive our automatic notifications.

European Union Member States and associated countries have developed many cooperation programmes with Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and other LAC countries in the fields of research and innovation, facilitating collaborative projects between European and LAC research laboratories, increasing researchers' mobility and promoting scientific exchanges between the two regions. To review the range of grants and funding opportunities that are available, please check their Embassies Portals. Their national open calls are also regularly published in the funding portal.