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Lula and Macron discussed the EUMercosur deal at a meeting in Paris
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- Author, Daniela Fernandes
- Rolle, from Paris to BBC News Brazil
8 hours ago
Although President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva claimed it was “crazy” to conclude an agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, as he declared in Paris this Friday (23/06), the situation is not that simple. One of the biggest difficulties is convincing France, a key country in the current discussions, to unblock the implementation of the free trade agreement between the two blocs that has been under negotiation for more than two decades.
The issue was discussed this Friday at a working lunch at the Élysée Presidential Palace between French President Emmanuel Macron and President Lula, accompanied by a delegation made up of Finance Minister Fernando Haddad and the Presidency’s special adviser Celso Amorim. .
After 20 years of negotiations, an agreement to create a free trade area between Mercosur and the European Union was concluded in 2019. However, the text has not yet been ratified by Europe’s national parliaments or signed by the Union’s leaders.
To make matters worse, some parliaments, such as France’s in midJune, have warned their governments not to vote on the text as it stands, citing concerns about environmental impact and competition for Brazilian farm products. Last year, the European Parliament also passed legislation banning the import of deforestationrelated products into the continent.
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Lula attended a summit in Paris to discuss the international financial system
Due to the significant increase in deforestation in the Amazon during the tenure of former President Jair Bolsonaro (20192022), Europeans made an addition to the commitment signed in 2019 with new environmental requirements, an initiative then defended by France. The document also provides for penalties for countries that fail to meet the climate goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The Brazilian government vehemently denies these new requirements. “Trade deals need to be fairer. I’m dying to make a deal with the European Union, but it’s not possible. The supplementary letter from the European Union does not allow for an agreement. “We will give an answer, but we have to start the discussion,” Lula said in a Macroncoordinated roundtable of leaders at the end of the summit, which discussed a new architecture for the world financial system.
“It is not possible for us to enter into a strategic partnership and there is an additional threatening letter against a strategic partner,” Lula said, referring to the European Union’s addendum. Lula had also criticized the new European demands in Italy, which he visited before arriving in France.
The Brazilian government is aware that France is not the only country where farmers, environmentalists and NGOs are contesting the ratification of this agreement, citing problems with the use of pesticides banned in Europe in Brazil, dumping and imbalances in labor rights, among others of the two blocks.
“Many European countries are hiding behind France,” a Brazilian diplomat told BBC News Brasil, referring to countries like Poland, Ireland and Belgium.
But France is the key interlocutor in these negotiations because of its economic and political weight in the bloc. The Brazilian government is betting that if it manages to negotiate with France, other countries will follow the same path, says another Brazilian diplomat.
The difficulty is that in France, agriculture is an economic sector that is strongly defended by the political class. It’s something linked to French tradition and culture. The traditional visit of French presidents to the agricultural fair, one of the largest industry fairs on the continent, is an event that has received a lot of attention in the country’s press.
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Deforestation in the Amazon is one of the problems preventing the agreement from being ratified
Macron, who is struggling with popularity problems and does not have an absolute majority in parliament after his reelection, is under pressure not only from farmers but also from politicians linked to ecology, as well as from environmentalists. During his first term in office, his environmental performance was criticized by much of civil society.
The French President knows that if he publicly defends the implementation of this agreement in its current form without new environmental guarantees, he will find himself in a complicated situation with farmers and part of the political class.
In a press conference this Saturday morning, just before leaving for Brazil, Lula said that given the difficulties President Macron is facing in the French Parliament because he no longer has an absolute majority, “when we meet with our friends on the Leftists can talk.” To help get the deal approved, we will.” On Friday, Lula met JeanLuc Mélenchon, leader of France Insubmissa, which leads a coalition of leftwing parties in Parliament that also includes ecologists belong.
The Brazilian government hopes that the agreement can move forward with the Spanish EU Council Presidency, which begins in July. Spain is seen as more sympathetic to the trade deal between the two blocs. But the problem of winning French support remains.
Lula also said this Saturday that a letter of reply to the Europeans at the next Mercosur meeting should be discussed and sent to the European Union before the next EUCommonwealth of Latin American and Caribbean (Celac) summit starts on July 17 in Belgium.
“We have to respond to the additional letter from the European Union and I think we will have a decision on the matter by the end of the year. I hope we have the ability and wisdom to do this because it is important for.” “It is important for the CELAC meeting that will be held in July,” Lula pointed out.