Lula complains to Von der Leyen about the new environmental demands of the EU to Mercosur

The first stop on the tour Ursula von der Leyen to elevate relations between the EU and Latin America to a new dimension has collided with complaints from Brazil. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has protested to the head of the European Commission for the new environmental requirements that Brussels wants to introduce in the free trade agreement with Mercosur. “Mutual trust must prevail, not mistrust or sanctions,” she snapped at a joint appearance in Brasilia.

The free trade pact between the EU and Mercosur was provisionally closed in June 2019 after 20 years of negotiations, but since then has been stranded by the reluctance of the two blocks. In Europe, France and Ireland (who want to protect their meat industry) are the most insistent on imposing new environmental guarantees.

The Community Executive has sent the Mercosur countries a proposal for additional sustainability instrument (focused on combating deforestation) and is waiting to receive a counter offer. The government of Pedro Sanchez it expects important advances in the summit that the two blocs will hold in Brussels at the beginning of July, under the Spanish presidency.

[El bloqueo con Mercosur complica el acercamiento entre la UE y América Latina que quiere Sánchez]

“I have conveyed to President Von der Leyen the concerns that Brazil has about the additional instrument to the agreement with Mercosur presented by the EU, which increases the obligations for Brazil and makes Brazil subject to sanctions in case of breach of the agreement. Among the strategic partners, mutual trust must prevail, and not mistrust or sanctions,” Lula said.

The president of Brazil also wants to renegotiate the Mercosur agreement to reverse the liberalization of public procurement, since it considers that this chapter constitutes a necessary instrument to develop its national industrial policy. Finally, Lula has complained about the “extraterritorial laws” approved by the EU that can restrict imports from Brazil. A reference to the community norm that will prohibit the importation of coffee, soybeans and palm oil that cause deforestation.

Von der Leyen has replied that the EU is willing to listen to Mercosur’s concerns about this sustainability instrument in order to introduce improvements. The president has defended the free trade agreement arguing that it is a “long-term commitment” and a “platform for dialogue” and has said that His goal is to finish it “as soon as possible, at the latest by the end of the year”.

The joint appearance of Von der Leyen and Lula has also exposed their differences regarding the war in Ukraine. The president of Brazil has defended betting on peace and avoiding a further escalation of the conflict and its “enormous risks”. “There is no military solution to this conflict. we need more diplomacy and fewer armed interventions in the Ukraine, Palestine or Yemen”, has defended Lula, who asks the West to apply the same yardstick to all these conflicts.

For her part, the president of the Commission thanked Brazil for voting in favor of the UN resolutions condemning the Russian invasion and insisted that the Kremlin’s actions constitute a serious threat to the principles of international law, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Von der Leyen has also conveyed to Lula that the EU supports the peace plan of the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski.

The Commission President’s tour of Latin America continues this Tuesday in Buenos Aires, where she will meet with the Argentine president, Alberto Fernandez. On Wednesday, Von der Leyen will arrive in Santiago de Chile to meet with gabriel boric. Finally, on Thursday the German will be in Mexico City, where she will hold a bilateral meeting with the president Andres Lopez Obrador.