MEP asks Pacheco to bar time frame – 05/06/2023 – Ambience

Vice-president of the European Parliament’s relations with Brazil, the MEP of the German Green party, Anna Cavazzini, calls for the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD/MG) to contain what he calls ‘questionable legislation’ approved by the Chamber of Deputies Deputies in the last week: PL 490, which establishes a timeframe for the demarcation of indigenous lands, and MP1154, which organizes the Esplanada and ended up emptying the ministries of the Environment and Indigenous Peoples.

“The Senate plays an important role in containing questionable legislation, respecting the Constitution of Brazil. I ask, therefore, as President of the Federal Senate, to guarantee the legal and political framework of environmental and indigenous rights”, says Cavazzini, in a letter sent to Pacheco last Thursday (1).

In the document, Anna says she is alarmed by recent moves by Congress, such as the weakening of the newly created Ministry of Indigenous Peoples and the approval of the timeframe by deputies.

“As you know, the demarcation and safeguarding of indigenous peoples’ lands
it is crucial for the protection of both their rights and threatened ecosystems. AND
worrying that this controversial project PL 490 may reach the Federal Senate soon”, he says.

The message comes right after the visit of the delegation of European parliamentarians to Brasília, in May. Cavazzini and Pacheco talked about the importance of Brazil guaranteeing the environmental conditions for the European Union’s trade agreement with Mercosur.

During the visit, the Brazilian government made it clear to the Europeans that Brazil does not want to see the European Union impose more environmental conditions for trade with the country, showing displeasure with the opening of the trade agreement for renegotiation and also with the approval of European legislation anti-deforestation, which does not differentiate between legal and illegal deforestation.

For Brazil, the condition of zero deforestation hinders agribusiness that works legally – since the country allows the deforestation of areas of a rural property, as long as they are outside the Legal Reserve and the Permanent Preservation Areas. The restriction would bring difficulties for the government’s dialogue with agribusiness. The message came straight from Minister Marina Silva (Environment).

On the other hand, the meeting with representatives of Brazilian agribusiness left the European delegation appalled. “Those who preserve the environment and biodiversity in Brazil are not the government, much less the NGOs, but the rural producers”, says a presentation by the National Confederation of Agriculture (CNA) shown during lunch with MEPs in mid-May.

“It was terrifying,” reacted French MEP Yannick Jadot. Contrary to the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, he claims to have left the meeting with the CNA with even more doubts about the sector’s capacity to comply with environmental constraints. France wants agricultural imports to respect the same requirements that domestic producers are subject to, such as the progressive reduction in the use of pesticides. In Brazil, however, the movement is the opposite: the Chamber of Deputies is processing the so-called ‘Poison Bill’, which should facilitate the approval of pesticides.

PRESENT LINK: Did you like this text? Subscriber can release five free hits of any link per day. Just click the blue F below.