Brazilian Foreign Minister estimates that the EU-Mercosur agreement will be signed this year

The trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union should be signed by the end of this year.

The forecast is from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira.

According to him, the Brazilian government is examining a document sent by the Europeans with new environmental items for the EU-Mercosur agreement, which would unbalance the negotiations.

“We want a balanced instrument, with concrete gains for both sides regarding trade and investment.”

“At the same time, we do not accept that the environment – a legitimate concern that we share – be used as a pretext for unreasonable demands, for the adoption of protectionist measures or, in the limit, for unreasonable retaliation,” he said during a public hearing at the Foreign Relations Committee of the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday 24th.

The foreign minister recalled that the country has already rejoined the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), a leftist organization from which former president Jair Bolsonaro withdrew Brazil in 2020, and defended Unasur, saying that many crises have been solved within the group. He cited Lula’s promises to revalue regional integration.

“We are aware that there are different expectations and visions in the region regarding integration, but we are also convinced that there are common denominators, starting with recognizing the need to work jointly with our immediate neighbors to face the multiple challenges we share,” Vieira said.

Besides talking about the EU-Mercosur agreement, Vieira made a balance of the activities.

He said that during his five months in office, he met with 90 foreign interlocutors, and President Lula talked with representatives from 30 countries.

Vieira also mentioned negotiations with South American countries on border security and with the United States on climate change.

With information from Revista Oeste

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For the full picture, see our Mercosur EU Trade Deal: Complete Guide.