Lula berates the EU for making 'threats' in talks to unblock the Mercosur trade deal

euronews (in English)

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticised the European Union for making environmental demands during negotiations of a free trade deal.

Transcript

00:00 Brazil`s president Lula da Silva is warning against European protectionism. He says that

00:07 the ratification of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement should happen by the end of the

00:12 year. But he wants an equal partnership between the two sides.

00:18 He was speaking in Brussels on Wednesday following a summit between the EU and Latin America,

00:22 where he made it clear that both sides have the right to protectionism, even if it isn`t

00:26 the best way forward.

00:28 "France is very anxious about the protection of its agricultural products, of its small

00:36 and medium agriculture, of its chicken, of its vegetables, of its cheese, of its milk,

00:42 of its wine. So, in the same way that France has this primacy of defending its productive

00:54 heritage, we have an interest in defending ours. The richness of the negotiation is that

01:03 someone has to give up."

01:04 A letter from the EU side was sent to Mercosur countries back in February with demands on

01:09 the environmental preservation of the Amazon rainforest. It`s another obstacle to the signing

01:15 off of the trade agreement with the bloc, which is made up of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay

01:19 and Uruguay.

01:20 "First of all, we don`t accept the letter from the EU. It`s impossible to imagine that

01:32 among historical partners like us, someone would send a letter threatening us. We don`t

01:40 have a problem. We sent a letter and we think that the EU will agree with our answer."

01:49 When it comes to Latin America`s position on the war in Ukraine, Lula da Silva stressed

01:53 the need to work quickly towards a ceasefire and again offered his mediation skills.

01:58 "For now, neither the heirs nor the putsch want to draw a draw, because everyone thinks

02:03 they will win. But there is a fatigue. The world is getting tired. The countries are

02:12 getting tired. So, there will come a time when there will be peace. And then there will

02:18 be a group of countries capable of talking to Russia and talking to Ukraine."

02:25 After hours of long discussions, the final declaration from the EU Latin America summit

02:29 showed the stark difference of opinions on the war in Ukraine on both sides of the Atlantic.

02:34 The statement referring to the conflict was weak, without even mentioning Russia.

02:38 "We are not going to let them do it. We are not going to let them do it. We are not going

02:39 to let them do it. We are not going to let them do it. We are not going to let them do

02:40 it. We are not going to let them do it. We are not going to let them do it. We are not

02:41 going to let them do it. We are not going to let them do it. We are not going to let them

02:42 do it. We are not going to let them do it. We are not going to let them do it. We are not

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