The UN climate change summit in Copenhagen "has reminded us of the importance of the emerging countries, like India and Brazil", the European Union's first President Herman Van Rompuy has said.
"It has also taught us some other geopolitical lessons. These developments invite us to ask
ourselves: How can we best collaborate with the other players?" he said at a Christian Social Union party conference in Wildbad Kreuth, Germany.
Van Rompuy said the EU is now better equipped to speak with one voice in the world, EuAsiaNews reported.
"The global distribution of power is changing rapidly. We might have to redefine our relations with the other big players, the USA, China and Russia above all," he said.
Van Rompuy, an ex-Belgian Prime Minister, was appointed in November as the first permanent President of the European Council for two-and-a-half years. He took up his post on 1 January.