Lula says that the EU-Mercosur agreement must be concluded by the end of the 1st semester

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) said this Monday (30) that the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur should be completed by the end of the first half of this year. Lula addressed the issue in a meeting with the Prime Minister of Germany, Olaf Scholz, this afternoon. The petista pointed out that changes in the text of the agreement will be necessary.

“We are going to work very hard to make this agreement a reality. But something has to be changed, it cannot be the way it is there… We are going to try to show Europeans how flexible we are. And we want Europeans to show us that they are as well. flexible,” said Lula.

“We are going to close this agreement, if all goes well, by the middle of this year”, said the representative addressing the German Chancellor. Scholz was surprised by Lula’s forecast. “The president’s energy in predicting that an agreement of this complexity could be closed by the end of the semester is admirable,” said the prime minister.

Scholz pointed out that the EU-Mercosur agreement “should pave the way for the transformation of our economies and strengthen technological as well as industrial collaboration, environmental and climate protection, and raise standards in terms of labor and social rights.”

Alongside the chancellor, Lula asked Germany to contribute to the World Trade Organization (WTO) working again, after having its work suspended at the request of the United States and India. He also defended the amendment of the Security Council of the United Nations (UN).

“The United Nations today is no longer [formada pela] same geopolitics as in 1945, when it was created. Therefore, it no longer represents geopolitical reality. We want the UN Security Council to be strong, to be more representative,” said Lula.

The president also mentioned that Brazil is interested in joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), but is still evaluating the terms of membership. “Obviously, Brazil is interested in participating in the OECD. What we want is to know what is Brazil’s role in the OECD”, he said.