Lula da Silva calls on Paraguay to continue its efforts to reach an EU/MERCOSUR agreement

Brazilian President Lula da Silva this Thursday called on Paraguayan President Santiago Pena, who will take over as Mercosur President, to push for negotiations on a trade agreement between the South American bloc and the European Union (EU).

“Pena, when will you take office as president? [rotativa do Mercosul] never give up. Try, try, fight and talk. [com a União Europeia]”Lula da Silva said at the opening of the summit of heads of state of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), which takes place today in Rio de Janeiro.

Before asking the Paraguayan president to push for negotiations on an agreement with the European bloc, Lula da Silva said he dreamed of reaching a consensus with the European Union before Brazil leaves the Mercosur presidency, which will be handed over to Paraguay today at the end of the summit.

“You know why there was a report in the press that we attempted to conclude this agreement during my presidency. [do Mercosul]. I confess to you, I had a dream that during my presidency [no Mercosul] and under the chairmanship of comrade Pedro Sánchez, who is the political president of the European Union, we could conclude an agreement,” said the Brazilian President.

“I’ve talked to almost every president [dos países] EU. I spoke with EU negotiators. I spoke with the President of the Netherlands, with all of them, trying to show the need for this agreement,” he added.

Lula da Silva considered unacceptable the addition to the text of the agreement signed between the blocs in 2019, which was not ratified because European countries did not approve of the environmental policies adopted by former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

According to the Brazilian head of state, new environmental requirements put forward by the European Union last year treat Mercosur countries as “inferior beings” or “colonized” countries.

“I went to Spain to talk to Pedro Sanchez and said that the words in the additional letter that they [União Europeia] They sent it to us (…) Then this letter was changed, but nothing was changed on the sectoral issue,” he noted.

“I think some progress has been made. At the last meeting I told Ursula von der Leyen [presidente da Comissão Europeia]I asked her to appoint her negotiator along with Mauro. [Vieira, ministro das Relações Exteriores do Brasil] so at our meeting yesterday [quarta-feira] we could get some news and see if we can approve the agreement,” he added.

In conclusion, the Brazilian President stated that “the current text is more balanced, but remains insufficient.” [porque a] European resistance is still very significant.”

A MERCOSUR-EU trade agreement would mean integrating a market of more than 700 million people, about a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product and about US$100 billion of bilateral trade in goods and services per year. This will also reduce customs duties and facilitate access for agricultural exporters to the EU market, and for European producers to enter Mercosur countries.