1 of 2 President Lula and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Photo: TV Globo/Reproduction President Lula and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Photo: TV Globo/Reproduction
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this Monday afternoon (12) at the Planalto Palace in Brasília. The meeting started just after 1 p.m.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during her visit to Brazil, Ursula von der Leyen addresses topics such as:
- Surroundings
- Agreement between Mercosur and the European Union
- Science, Technology and Innovation
- human rights
In addition to meeting Lula, the President of the European Commission was also due to meet Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira. He was the one who received her when she arrived in Planalto.
2 of 2 President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen Photo: Yves Herman/Portal President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen Photo: Yves Herman/Portal
MercosurEU Agreement
Von der Leyen’s trip to the country comes three months after European Commission Executive VicePresident Margrethe Vestager met in Brasília with Republic VicePresident Geraldo Alckmin.
Twenty years after the talks began, in 2019, the blocs concluded trade negotiations and a year later the socalled political and cooperative aspects. Since then, the agreement has been reviewed.
O g1 noted that one of the main obstacles in concluding the agreement is the environmental issue. Environment Minister Marina Silva has already stated that she will try to enforce the agreement and conclude the negotiations.
The Brazilian government, for example, understands that the inclusion of possible sanctions for noncompliance with environmental goals should be reviewed, including, for example, socalled reciprocity what applies to Mercosur as a sanction also applies to the European Union.
Meeting of delegations
On May 30, delegations from Brazil and the European Union met in Brasilia for the socalled “highlevel” meeting.
In a statement, the State Department reported that several issues were discussed, including:
- defense and security
- environment and climate change
- Agreement between Mercosur and the European Union
- CELACEuropean Union Summit
- Brazilian G20 Presidency
- war in Ukraine
- Political situation in Haiti and Venezuela
foreign policy
Ursula von der Leyen’s trip to Brazil also comes at a time when President Lula is trying to intensify his meetings with international leaders.
Since taking office on January 1, Lula has said he wants to place Brazil at the forefront of the international scene.
The President has already visited the USA, China, Japan, Argentina and Portugal and received presidents and prime ministers in Brasília.
The president is expected to travel to the Vatican in the coming weeks, where he is due to meet with Pope Francis, and to France, where he will attend a summit organized by President Emmanuel Macron to discuss financing measures for climate action.
Lula has called on rich countries to comply with the Paris Agreement signed in 2015, which includes mobilizing $100 billion a year to protect the environment.
The Brazilian President has repeatedly stressed in international forums that the richest countries have not complied with this point of the agreement.