Lula goes to Brussels in search of progress in the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union – 07/14/2023 – World

2023-07-14 13:00:00

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva leaves this Sunday for Brussels, Belgium, where he will participate together with leaders of other nations in the third summit of the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac).

According to the EU, the summit is an opportunity to strengthen partnerships between member countries, discuss joint work to achieve just ecological and digital transitions, as well as demonstrate a common commitment to defending international order.

For Lula, however, the event means yet another attempt to string together a trade agreement at a more regional level, between the EU and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), whose main countries are Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The latter, however, threatens to make bilateral agreements with China, since, 30 years after its founding, Mercosur has not been able to seal any relevant agreement with other countries or with large blocs of nations.

“Our great ambition in relation to Latin America is to sign the agreement with Mercosur at the end of this year,” said the ambassador of the European Union in Brazil, Ignacio Ybáñez, on Thursday afternoon.

Translated by José Alberto Gutiérrez

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