A group of 11 EU countries called, in a letter to Van der Leyen, for a rapid conclusion to the agreement, which has dragged on for 25 years. (Image: REUTERS/Adriano Machado)
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday that he is optimistic about the implementation of the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, adding that Brazil wants to complete its signature to negotiate other agreements.
Lula reported that he told the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Tuesday that Brazil is ready to sign and that now the responsibility lies entirely with the European Union.
“We are ready to make the agreement, and I even told her: 'if you prepare, we can sign it during the G20 meeting.' Or, who knows, even during a meeting with champagne at the European Union headquarters. We are ready and I think the agreement will come out. And we need the agreement to come out, because we have many other agreements to make,” said Lula in a press conference after participating in the UN General Assembly this week, in New York.
Earlier this month, the delegations resumed face-to-face negotiations on the agreement for the first time since April. Sources contacted by Reuters at the time said there had been significant progress, especially on issues considered more difficult for South Americans, such as the environment and government procurement.
The expectation after the round of negotiations is that it will be possible to close the deal by the end of this year, as planned by the president. A new meeting should take place next month to try to settle pending points.
A group of 11 EU countries called, in a letter to Van der Leyen, for a rapid conclusion to the agreement, which has dragged on for 25 years.
“It is urgent to secure the progress made so far and conclude the negotiations. We believe that all the elements are in place to allow a rapid conclusion of the negotiations by the end of 2024,” says the document signed by the prime ministers of Germany, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic.
One of the difficulties that negotiators have been working on is the impact of the European Union's anti-deforestation laws, which come into force in December. The restrictions imposed on the import of products that may originate from areas that have been deforested directly affect Brazil. They have been the subject of complaints from the Brazilian government.
One fear is that the law could end up affecting EU import quotas in sectors including beef, cocoa, coffee, soy, palm oil, timber, rubber, leather, furniture and pulp.
Earlier this month, the Brazilian government sent a letter to the EU leadership asking for the implementation of the law to be postponed. Among the allegations was that it had problems being interpreted and enforced, in addition to interfering with the sovereignty of other countries.
There is still no concrete answer, but a few days later German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz also called for the implementation to be postponed until July 2025, claiming that key points of the text still need to be clarified and that companies need to prepare.