Regarding the European Union-Mercosur trade deal, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva insisted that his government's purchases were non-negotiable and promised not to give in because it would entail killing ”the possibility of growth of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). The Workers' Party leader also admitted that discrepancies on this point might delay the agreement a little longer.”
Finland's long-delayed Olkiluoto-3 nuclear reactor connected to the power grid for the first time this month, the plant's operator said, 12 years after its planned launch. Located on Finland's west coast, Olkiluoto-3 is the country's first new nuclear plant in over four decades and Europe's first in almost 15 years.
The European Union is working on agreements with Argentina and Chile with the purpose of increasing access to critical minerals such as lithium, essential for the batteries of electric automobiles and to comply with the EU's less carbon-intensive economy guidelines.
Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira Thursday said during an appearance before his country's Senatorial Foreign Relations Committee that the European Union's (EU) new environmental requirements for the Mercosur-EU agreement could cause enormous damage to the South American bloc.
Brazil’s government said it could not interfere with a landmark EU law banning imports of commodities linked to deforestation but will keep farming according to its own laws. The law approved by the European Parliament on April 19 bans imports of coffee, beef, soy, palm oil, cocoa, rubber, wood, charcoal and derived products including leather, chocolate and furniture if they are linked to forest destruction.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, and the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, gathered in Bogota's Casa de Nariño Friday to discuss the ongoing peace process in the South American country and other bilateral issues. Borrell also announced donations of € 26 million.
Spanish European Union (EU) MP Gabriel Mato, who heads the bloc's Electoral Mission in Paraguay, Tuesday met with President Mario Abdo Benítez to finalize the details of the April 30 polls whereby the latter's successor will be chosen.
Márcio Elias, executive secretary of Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services, said Sunday that the federal government intends to close the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union this year.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Friday landed in Lisbon for the first stop of his European tour seeking to overcome the isolation the South American country sank into under Jair Bolsonaro. However, it was not all cheers and smiles following his remarks regarding Ukraine and Russia, whom he both blamed for starting the current war.
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.