The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvapromised this Monday to do “additional efforts” to prevent failure talks for a trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union.
Lula made statements in Berlin after the president of France sharply opposed the conditions of the agreement, Emmanuel Macronwho considered “outdated” to the terms of the negotiation because do not comply with European regulations environment.
During a dialogue with the press after visiting the German head of government (chancellor), Olaf Scholz, Lula said that Brazil and Germany do promote the free trade agreement and that the decision is not made by countries alone but by the European Commission (the Executive branch of the EU).
“To harness the potential that arises from economic and trade relations, Brazil and Germany support the celebration of the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur. We will make additional efforts so that this agreement can be concluded. “I’m not going to give up until I talk to everyone and hear a ‘no’ from them,” Lula said next to Scholz.
Lula on Macron’s role and the uncertainty regarding Milei
Lula recalled that the French position is historically refractory to the signing of a free trade agreement with the Mercosur “by political and financial problems with the French producers”.
He also referred to the assumption of the elected Argentine president, Javier Milei, who will take over next Sunday.
“We respect Macron’s position, what I cannot yet say is whether we are going to sign. Firstly, because, in addition to France’s position, we have the position of Argentina, which had elections and its new president takes office on the 10th. Alberto Fernández will participate in our meeting on the 7th in Brazil. On the 6th there will be a meeting of ministers, foreign ministers, of the Mercosur countries, who will try to resolve the technical problems that exist,” he said.
Thus, Lula asked Scholz to speak with Macron and the next president of Argentina to try to unblock the final negotiations.
Upon receiving Macron’s ‘no’ last Saturday in Dubai, Lula assured that this time “no one can blame Brazil or to “Mercosur” to derail the negotiations.
Lula said that after almost 23 years of negotiation the rapprochement between Mercosur and European Union “is central to the construction of a multipolar world and the strengthening of multilateralism.”
Source: Ambito
