Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's stance on the war in Ukraine might jeopardize the Mercosur-European Union deal, according to a confidential report drafted ahead of a European foreign ministers' summit and accessed by Politico.
France denies blocking the EU-Mercosur agreement, which it vetoed since it was signed in 2019. However, it reiterates its demands to correct it and says it is waiting for the outcome of the negotiations being conducted by the European Commission with its South American partners.
The first clash of the Brazilian president-elect with the European Union occurred, given Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's anticipated intention to introduce modifications to the Mercosur/EU trade agreement, discussed for two decades.
It's been more than two decades since the negotiations began. Yet, geopolitical conditions have never been favorable to ratify the agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur. However, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, Francisco Bustillo, said Tuesday during a press conference that there is “a window of opportunity” to ratify the accord between the European and South American blocs in 2023, during the pro tempore rulings of Spain and Brazil in each group.
Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares called on his EU peers on Monday to definitively advance in the ratification of the trade accords of the European Union with Chile, Mexico and Mercosur.
The ambassador of the European Union (EU) in Uruguay, Paolo Berizzi, said he was “optimistic” about the agreement between the bloc he represents and Mercosur. After more than 20 years of negotiations, Berizzi said he believes that this year there will be progress for its entry into force.
The European Union's Ambassador to Argentina said Thursday that if the trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur was to be revived it was now or never.
France's President Emmanuel Macron Friday insisted his government would oppose the trade deal between the European Union and Mercosur due to incompatible differences regarding climate issues.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez Wednesday said his country intends to have a greater presence in Latin American markets and for that it is willing to invest more than 4,5 billion euros (almost US $ 5,5 billion).
Austria’s coalition government has confirmed it will block the landmark EU-Mercosur trade agreement – which should create the biggest free-trade area in the world – saying it goes against the EU’s environmental ambitions set out in the European Green Deal.