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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Wednesday that some European Union partners are reluctant to approve a trade agreement with Mercosur, a bloc made up of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, but he will try to convince them to give approval to the treaty.
Brazil is discussing the conclusion of the agreement between Mercosur and the EU after a political agreement reached in 2019 was suspended due to concerns, mainly in France, about deforestation in the Amazon and Brazil's commitment to combating climate change.
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“There are indeed countries in the EU that have doubts about the conclusion of this important agreement, but I believe that these doubts can be dispelled if we think about the potential of an agreement of this magnitude,” said Sánchez at a press conference alongside President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , who is on an official visit to Spain.
“If there are arguments (for ratification of the agreement) and there is an opportunity, it is clearly now,” added the prime minister who said he will work to conclude the agreement this year.
On Sunday, the executive secretary of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce, Marcio Elias Rosa, also said he expected trade negotiations to be concluded this year.
Lula said that climate change is at the top of his government's agenda and that he is prioritizing efforts to combat deforestation in the Amazon, in an attempt to reverse the environmental destruction carried out during the government of his predecessor, former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Source: Belén Carreño and Emma Pinedo | Notícias Agrícolas
