BRUSSELS, 16 Feb. () –
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, expressed this Thursday in a telephone conversation with the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the wish that the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, stalled since several years ago, was able to cross “the finish line”.
“We are both interested in strengthening the association between the EU and Brazil, especially getting the agreement with Mercosur to cross the finish line and intensifying our joint fight against deforestation,” the head of the Community Executive wrote in a message on the networks. social.
Von der Leyen described the conversation with Lula da Silva as a “good call” and expressed his desire to “visit” Brazil soon.
Shortly after, the Brazilian president also reacted to the conversation with a brief message on his Twitter profile, assuring that Von der Leyen “will be very well received” when he travels to the country.
“We will strengthen the alliances between Brazil and the European Union to strengthen our economies and promote common causes to build a better world”, Lula da Silva reasoned.
Last September, the president of the European Commission called in a speech before the plenary session of the European Parliament to speed up the ratification of key trade agreements for the EU, such as the one with Chile and Mexico, but she ignored any reference to the situation of the agreement with Mercosur. , a pact that is also pending ratification but clashes with the reservations of France and other partners.
However, with the replacement at the head of the Brazilian Government after Jair Bolsonaro lost the elections last October, Brussels has changed the tone of its statements on the state of the talks on the agreement with Mercosur, considering that a “window of unique opportunity” to reactivate it.
