Counterproposal from Mercosur to Europeans will be sent in the coming weeks, says Lula

Brazil’s participation in the third summit between the European Union and CELAC, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, ended this Wednesday morning (19) with two indications of issues considered important by the country’s government: the advancement of the trade agreement with Mercosur and the Amazon Fund.

In a press conference shortly before leaving for Brazil, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) stated that he will send a Mercosur counter-proposal to the Europeans in the coming weeks on the new demands made recently to conclude the free trade agreement. between the two blocks that has been dragging on since 2019.

“We prepared the Brazilian response, it is being discussed and in two or three weeks we will deliver the proposal to the European Union. For the first time I am optimistic that we will conclude this agreement later this year, and it would be very good if we could conclude this agreement during the presidency of Spain”, he said in reference to the rotating presidency of the bloc by the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, who has favorable to the conclusion of the agreement.

Lula said that he is optimistic that the counterproposal will be accepted by the European Union, and that one of the items is the reformulation of the Brazilian climate policy, but without revealing details of what should be changed. The Europeans proposed attaching an appendix to the agreement to demonstrate commitments to deforestation and other sustainability measures to the countries of the South American bloc.

Another point mentioned by Lula regarding the new restrictions imposed by Europeans was in the item of government purchases, in which the bloc asks for preference to products from partner countries. The president reaffirmed his opposition to this requirement, saying that it would directly affect the country’s industrial development.

“We do not give up government purchases, because they are an instrument of internal development. Why would a country the size of Brazil give up? France and Germany, for example, know that this is a matter of sovereignty. Why can’t it be important to us? We have to learn that in negotiation we don’t get everything we want, but we also don’t give everything away. I am ready and so is Mercosur”, he fired.

Still on Tuesday (18), Lula confirmed that the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union would not be closed during the summit, since the letter with the counterproposal to the Europeans was not yet ready and the event was specific to discuss relations with the Celac. A new meeting to present the divergent points will be scheduled for August between the bloc’s representatives.

Investment in the Amazon Fund

Also during this morning’s press conference, Lula commented on the European Union’s intention to provide “promptly US$ 100 billion per year for climate finance and to support developing countries and double the financing for adaptation by 2025”, said a joint statement. issued on Tuesday (18) by the countries participating in the summit.

“In August, for the first time in 45 years, we will have a meeting with all the Amazonian countries to discuss a strategy in defense of the Amazonian territory, taking into account that in the Amazon of South America there are 50 million human beings who need a better quality of life. ”, he said, repeating his promise to combat deforestation, in addition to stating that Brazil will encourage the bioeconomy.

On Tuesday (18), the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, stated her intention to also contribute to the Amazon Fund, but without disclosing amounts. She said she will try to get the donation approved in the Danish budget.

During the two days of the summit, Lula participated in at least a dozen bilateral meetings with countries on both continents, in which he discussed topics such as trade relations, environmental protection and a change in attitude towards the dictatorship in Venezuela – he signed with other leaders a letter calling for fair elections in the Latin country.

According to the president, the Europeans showed interest in investing in Latin America. “It was an extremely successful meeting. The participation of 60 countries unequivocally demonstrated the European Union’s interest in turning its eyes to Latin America,” he said.

The president also confirmed that he will make an official trip to Germany in December, at the invitation of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The visit should take place right after the COP28 in the United Arab Emirates, scheduled for the end of November.

Political articulation

During the press conference before leaving for Brazil, Lula commented on the government’s political articulation, which continued even during his trip to Belgium. This week the Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, had meetings with deputies from centrão parties, which he is trying to attract to the government base – André Fufuca (PP-MA), party leader, and Silvio Costa Filho (Republicanos-PE) .

The president said he will hold meetings upon arriving in Brazil to draw up a “mature agreement” to be able to pass projects of interest to the government in Congress with more peace of mind. He also intends to meet with party leaders on the return of the parliamentary recess.

Still this Wednesday (19), Lula will have a meeting with the president of Cape Verde, José Maria Neves, during the technical stopover he will have to make in the Atlantic country during his trip back to Brazil.