Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva He assured this Saturday that Brazil is “ready” to sign the free trade agreement they are negotiating the European Union and Mercosur and now it is up to Europe, after the European Parliament elections, to make its own decisions.
The Brazilian president made these statements at a press conference on the final day of the G7 summit in Apulia, southern Italy, after meeting with several of the attending leaders, such as the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenand the French president, Emmanuel Macronwho called elections after the triumph of Marine Le Pen’s far-right.
“I told [a la presidenta de la Comisión Europea Ursula von der Leyen] that after all the negotiations that Brazil did to change the agreement (…) Brazil is ready for when the European Union wants to sign, “Now the problem is them.”Lula said at the conference.
In this way, the president indicated that now “the problem” lies with the European blocwhich must carry out its own institutional renewal and also in its members such as France or Germany, where the far-right party Alternative for Germany was the second most voted force, surpassing the chancellor’s social democrats Olaf Scholz.
Von der Leyen, who aspires to be re-elected to her position, met with Lula during the summit and, at the end of the meeting, expressed her commitment to the trade agreement in a message on X: “In Mercosur, the European Commission remains committed to a good and mutually beneficial outcome”wrote.
From the town of Carovigno, in the Apulia region, where the G7 is being held, the Brazilian was nevertheless optimistic about closing this treaty whose negotiations began 25 years ago.
“I return with the optimism that in Mercosur we are ready to sign this agreement and I am sure that it will be beneficial” for everyone, he said.
Days ago, the president of Paraguay Santiago Pena He had said that he does not see the conditions for the trade agreement to advance. “The feeling is that we are not moving as quickly as we would like.“, said the president after consulting journalists about the status of the negotiations.
The president acknowledged that he has heard in recent days that the Twenty-Seven are now interested “in resuming the agreement.” But he clarified: “I genuinely tell you, I don’t see the conditions, so we are always attentive”.
On the other hand, he mentioned that are open to new economic agreementswhich advance “quickly“, as the one that Mercosur is studying with the United Arab Emirates.
The EU and Mercosur, made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, in the process of final accession, have been negotiating a free trade agreement for more than 25 years.
In 2019, both groups reached an agreement in principle, but since then lawsuits and doubts have arisen on both sides of the Atlantic that have so far frustrated the final signing.
The agreement runs into the resistance of some European countries, mainly Francewhich fears the massive arrival of South American agricultural products.
If adopted, the treaty would allow South American agricultural powers to export meat, sugar, rice, honey or soybeans to Europe. For its part, the EU would export cars, machinery and pharmaceutical products, among others.
(With information from EFE and AFP)
