‘If there is no agreement, it will be clear who is to blame’

Lula commented on the topic after being asked about the speech of French President Emmanuel Macron, who said he was against the treaty

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated this Sunday, 3rd, that, if there is no agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, it will be clear who is to blame for the impasse. Lula commented on the topic after being asked about French President Emmanuel Macron’s speech, who said he was against the treaty. The president held a press conference in Dubai, where he participated in the United Nations (UN) Climate Conference, COP-28.

On Saturday, President Emmanuel Macron classified the Mercosur-European Union agreement as “outdated” and stated that the model is incoherent with Brazilian environmental policy. Lula, in turn, attributed the French president’s position to a protectionist stance and said he had a bilateral meeting on Saturday to try to “stir the heart” of Macron.

“If there is no agreement, at least it will be clear who is to blame for there being no agreement,” said the president. Brazil expected to be able to conclude the agreement by the Mercosur meeting, which takes place this week in Rio de Janeiro. Lula also said that rich countries cannot blame the failure of the treaty on Brazil and South America. The president defended that developed nations must maintain balance and stop trying to obtain advantages in everything. Macron will visit Brazil on March 27, 2024.

“Take responsibility that rich countries don’t want to make a deal from the perspective of making any concessions. It’s always about getting more. And we are no longer colonized. We are independent. And we want to be treated with respect as independent countries, which we have things to sell. And the things we have to sell have a price. What we want is a certain balance”, argued the president.

The Brazilian president stated that the country will not ease the clause on government purchases in the agreement with the European Union. “We want Brazil’s GDP to grow,” he said. And he warned: “Brazil will not close an agreement with the EU to take a loss.” The president said that the government will have a meeting with the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen. “We’ll see what happens,” she said.

Lula left Dubai this Sunday morning (dawn in Brazil) heading to Germany, where he will have a round of meetings with the country’s prime minister, Olaf Scholz, and the president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Among the members of Lula’s delegation are the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, and the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva.

The Brazilian president’s participation in COP-28 marked the country’s attempt to regain international leadership in the climate agenda, an area in which the country exerted strong global influence during the PT governments. On Friday, Lula was one of three leaders to speak at the opening conference of COP-28. Only the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed; King Charles III of the United Kingdom; and Lula spoke at the first plenary.