Brazilian President is in Rome for meetings with Italian authorities; will also meet Pope Francis
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) met his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella this Wednesday (21 June 2023). They spoke about the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, the rapprochement of universities and commercial exchanges between the two countries. The meeting took place at the Quirinale Palace, the official residence of the Italian President, in Rome.
“Conversation with Italian President Sergio Mattarella on strengthening ties between two sister countries, 🇧🇷 and 🇮🇹, and the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur. We will work to bring our universities closer together and expand commercial exchanges between our countries,” he wrote Lula on his Twitter page.
In 2019, an advance agreement was signed between the two economic blocs. In March of this year, the Europeans presented new environmental regulations in an additional letter, known as a “side letter”, and stipulated sanctions in the event that the obligations were not complied with. The countries of the South American bloc consider the measures abusive.
Brazil wants too
Brazil also wants to renegotiate the chapter on state purchases. The Brazilian proposal, tabled during Jair Bolsonaro’s (PL) government and signed by former Economy Minister Paulo Guedes’ team, gave Europeans broad access to government purchases in Mercosur. The current Lula government believes that this could harm the industry in the country and wants to revisit the point, but is met with opposition.
How Power360 As it turned out, a meeting of Mercosur negotiators with the European Union’s chief negotiator, Rupert Schlegelmilch, was cancelled. It is scheduled to take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, late next week.
Brazil says Mercosur will only accept proposed new rules if Europe makes concessions on state purchases. However, the Brazilians have not yet finalized a counterproposal.
Earlier, Lula met with former Italian Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema and the General Secretary of the Italian Democratic Party, Elly Schlein. Appointments this Wednesday (June 21) also include meetings with Pope Francis and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The Petista landed in Europe on Tuesday (20 June). Before returning to Brazil, he will travel to Paris. There he will meet French President Emmanuel Macron, with whom he also wants to talk about the MercosurEU agreement. On Tuesday (June 20), Lula met with Professor Domenico de Masi, who is famous for developing the concept of “creative leisure,” which he believes stimulates personal creativity.
“Nice meeting and chat with friend and teacher Domenico de Masi. We met in Curitiba and also when I was in Rome before the 2020 pandemic. We talked about the political situation in Brazil and Europe,” he wrote Lula on his Twitter page.
