2023-12-02 05:58:52
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said this Friday (1st) that Mercosur and the European Union (EU) are “close to closing” a free trade agreement, on which the bloc's summit will focus on Thursday -fair.
“We are close to closing this agreement, which will benefit our countries,” wrote Lula on the X network, the former Twitter.
Lula held separate meetings this Friday on the sidelines of COP28, in Dubai, with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and with the Spanish head of government, Pedro Sánchez, currently in charge of the EU presidency.
The Brazilian president and Von der Leyen agreed that “there have been significant advances in meetings between technical teams on both sides” in recent days, especially after telephone communication between them, the Palácio do Planalto said in a statement.
The negotiations “will continue” until the Mercosur summit – also made up of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay – which will be held on December 7 in Rio de Janeiro.
At this meeting, Lula is expected to promote the conclusion of the agreement finalized in 2019, after more than two decades of negotiations, but with new differences in recent years.
“The EU is committed to closing this deal,” said Von der Leyen in X, along with a photo with Lula, to whom she promised support.
The Spaniard Sánchez, in turn, celebrated on this same social network the meeting held with Lula “to give political impetus to the agreement”, which will be a “historic” step and “will allow us to reinforce strategic projects in renewable energy, green hydrogen, the fight against deforestation and digital transition”.
This Friday, Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou said he expected “good news” about the agreement, based on the political wishes of European authorities.
The future Argentine government of Javier Milei, which will take office on December 10, expressed the “importance” of concluding the agreement.
The definitive pact was surrounded by tensions, some from the beginning, such as resistance from French farmers.
But, in March, new ones were added, when the EU presented a document with environmental requirements for the agricultural sector, non-compliance with which would result in sanctions.
On the Mercosur side, there was rejection of what they called “green protectionism”. The bloc responded with its own demands, such as the creation of an environmental fund to support developing countries.
Even if the agreement between the blocs is reached, there will be another challenge afterwards: parliamentary ratification in the member countries.
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