Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, and Ana de Hollanda, Minister of State of Culture of Brazil signed an agreement which consists in a four-year joint action plan focusing on cultural diversity, cultural heritage and the development of a sustainable cultural and creative economy.

At the EU-Brazil summit, the Commissioner Vassiliou and Minister Ana de Hollanda signed the new 'Joint Programme on Culture', which runs until the end of 2014 which represents a further positive step in EU-Brazil economic relation. The agreement launches a series of initiatives aimed at enhancing policy exchanges, in particular linked to the implementation of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, to which the EU is a party in addition to individual Member States.

It also set up some priorities to develop which includes policies to create a favourable environment for the cultural and creative economy; improving cooperation and exchanges between the EU and Brazil, including audiovisual co-productions; sharing professional expertise on the preservation of cultural and natural heritage, including landscapes, fostering its promotion; and the promotion and implementation of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

With this new Cooperation Programme, based in a Joint Declaration signed in 2009, the Commission and Brazilian Ministry of Culture engage in regular exchanges on policies and best practice. In particular, they focus on existing and future cultural cooperation, such as jointly organised seminars and events linked to the priorities identified in the Joint Declaration and the Joint Programme on Culture.