EU and Brazil to sign new Digital Partnership

The European Union and Brazil are set to sign a Digital Partnership in Brasília, marking a significant step in their long-running digital cooperation. The agreement will be signed by Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Brazil’s Secretary Alex Giacomelli da Silva, and will cover key areas including data governance, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, connectivity, online platforms, and digital public services.

For EU digital law practitioners, the partnership is notable because it links regulatory cooperation with broader digital policy objectives. It follows the mutual adequacy decisions adopted in January 2026, which confirmed comparable data protection standards between the EU and Brazil. Those decisions allow personal data to move between the two jurisdictions without additional transfer requirements, creating a stronger legal basis for business, research, and public-sector cooperation.

The partnership will also be accompanied by an administrative agreement between Commission services and Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Proteção de Dados. This agreement will focus on cooperation in protecting minors online, an area increasingly shaped by EU rules on platform accountability, child safety, privacy, and risk management. It signals that online safety and data protection will remain central to the EU’s external digital policy.

Implementation will take place through high-level exchanges and technical workstreams. A first Digital Partnership Council meeting is expected within 12 months, where the parties are expected to agree on a joint roadmap. The initiative reflects the EU’s broader effort to build structured digital alliances with partner countries while supporting rules-based digital governance, resilient supply chains, and more inclusive access to digital technologies.