Lula labels EU’s proposal for deal with Mercosur “unacceptable”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Thursday (Jun. 22) that the proposal put forward by the European Union (EU) on the free-trade agreement with Mercosur, that it should introduce penalties for nations failing to comply with the Paris Agreement is unacceptable. President Lula has engagements in Italy and France this week, and spoke to the press in Rome before departing for Paris.
“This agreement proposal is not in line with the dream of Latin American countries, like Brazil, which is to have the right to recover its industrialization capacity. Brazil once had an industrial GDP of 30 percent. Today our GDP is only ten percent,” he stated.
“The additional letter the EU sent to Mercosur is unacceptable […]. Even they didn’t comply with the Paris Agreement. I mean, rich countries did not comply with the Paris Agreement, did not comply with the Kyoto Protocol, did not comply with the Copenhagen decision, so we need a little more sensitivity, a little more humility. We’re drafting our response to the EU, in a bid to reach an agreement that favors both continents,” the president added.
In Paris, President Lula is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and discuss last week’s approval by the French National Assembly of a resolution against the ratification of the Mercosur–EU agreement. The move was considered harsh by the Brazilian leader.
“France is tough in defending its agricultural interests,” he said. “But we have to understand that others also have the right to defend their agriculture, so each one of us must abandon their perfectionism and protectionism so we can build an agreement that improves the situation of the EU and South America,” he added. The president also advocated changes to the free-trade deal on government procurement.
Approved in 2019 after 20 years of talks, the Mercosur–EU agreement is pending ratification by the parliaments of all nations in the two blocs to become effective. The negotiation involves 31 countries, which could take years and face resistance.
After the presser, Lula flew to Paris.
In the French capital, he should attend the Summit for the New Global Financing Pact and meet with President Emmanuel Macron and other leaders in town for the gathering.
On Thursday (22), President Lula will also deliver the closing speech for Power Our Planet, at the invitation of British band Coldplay. The event will be held at Champ de Mars, in front of the Eiffel Tower. Also expected in attendance are leaders from East Timor, Barbados, Ghana, and Kenya, as well as Paris Mayor Ane Hidalgo.
