Mercosur, an alliance of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, reached a trade deal with the EU in 2019 after more than twenty years of negotiations, but it has not yet been ratified.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ruled yesterday Monday that “mistrust” should not guide any trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur member countries, criticizing the Europeans’ demands for the environment.
“Between strategic partners there must be mutual trust, not mistrust and sanctions,” Lula summed up during a joint press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Mercosur, an alliance of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, reached an agreement with the EU in 2019 after more than twenty years of negotiations, but it has not yet been ratified due to European concerns about its predecessor’s environmental policy. of the current Brazilian president, the far-right Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022).
Positions have changed since Lula returned to power for a third term at the helm of Latin America’s biggest economy, but the European side’s demands for environmental protection, contained in a document supplementing the agreement, have significantly dampened enthusiasm for the South American alliance.
“I expressed to President von der Leyen the concerns of Brazil,” Lula said during a press conference at the Planalto, the presidential palace in Brasilia. The additional protocol “magnifies Brazil’s obligations” and exposes it to “sanctions in the event of non-compliance,” he said.
The Brazilian criticized the European legislation because it “changes the balance of the agreement”. A law adopted in April bans, for example, the export of products such as cocoa, coffee, timber and soybeans from areas where forests have been deforested.
These are provisions that raise “potential restrictions on Brazilian agricultural and industrial exports,” President Lula said.
However, Mrs. von der Leyen wanted to appear optimistic, stating that the ratification of the agreement between the two blocs can be done “by the end of the year at the latest.”
The German politician started yesterday Monday in Brasilia a tour of Latin America, in the framework of which she will also go to Argentina, Chile and Mexico. The series of visits comes a week after the Commission announced that it wants to “renew” the EU’s relationship with Latin American and Caribbean countries. The European Union is currently the largest foreign investor in this region.
Mrs. von der Leyen also announced that the EU intends to contribute more than 20 million euros to the Fund for the Amazon, an initiative of President Lula in 2008 to protect the Brazilian part of the largest rainforest in the world.
Source :Skai
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