 The European Union should invite Latin America's biggest nation Brazil to join a select group of countries it considers as strategic partners, the EU's executive said on Wednesday. The EU and Brazil share a commitment to multilateral institutions and could help tackle issues such as climate change, poverty and human rights, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said. "By proposing stronger ties, we are acknowledging Brazil's qualification as a 'key player' to join the restricted club of our strategic partners," he said in a statement. The partnership plan will be discussed with EU countries and should be launched at an EU-Brazil summit in Lisbon on July 4. The EU has such partnerships with the United States, Japan, Canada, India, China, Russia and South Africa. Brazil, home to most of the Amazon rainforest and a big player in biofuels, could be an important partner for the EU which wants to be a leader in the fight against global warming. Negotiations for a free trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur group of South American countries, including Brazil, are on hold pending the outcome of attempts to strike a global trade deal at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The Commission said it wanted to address specific bilateral trade and investment issues with Brazil "that complement the EU-Mercosur discussions", without providing details. The EU and Brazil are important players in the WTO negotiations which face a make-or-break next few weeks. Brussels is pressing Brasilia to go further with planned cuts to import tariffs on industrial goods while Brazil wants rich countries, especially the EU and the United States, to open up their farm markets.