EU seeks to seal Mercosur trade deal as summit exposes differences over Ukraine war

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The European Union and the Mercosur bloc are expected to finalize a long-delayed trade deal this year, leaders from both sides said, although differences over the Ukraine war marred the first summit between European and Latin American leaders in eight years. Happened.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, the largest of MERCOSUR’s four members, called on Monday for a “balanced agreement” — one that would end Brazil and Argentina’s refusal to accept additional environmental demands and protect domestic industry. There was reference to his desire to do.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who has set a one-year deadline for finalizing the agreement, said it was “within reach” as she spoke to the EU along with Latin America and the Caribbean (SELAC) leaders. Before the summit, she met with Lula. Reconstruction of Europe’s position in the region,

“Our ambition is to resolve the remaining differences at the earliest,” he said. Diplomats say there is a narrow window to try to finalize the deal this year, when Spain holds the rotating presidency of the EU Council and before the new Argentine government takes office in December.

Diplomats struggled to find common language on Russia’s war on Ukraine for a joint communique on Monday, highlighting the distance between the two sides.

Asked whether the final text to be published on Tuesday would contain a reference to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Alberes said: “It is what Spain wants but we are going to see.”

“Most (countries) use the language of the UN in criticizing the invasion, but we know some take a different stand,” he told the Financial Times.

Alberes said the two-day summit was a chance to “start a dynamic” that would help finalize trade deals with Chile, Mexico and the Mercosur quartet.

The Mercosur deal stalled after the EU demanded additional guarantees on deforestation and labor rights in an agreement concluded in 2019 after 20 years of negotiations. A senior Brazilian diplomat said last week that Mercosur, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, is preparing a counter-proposal that will be presented to the EU within weeks.

Lula has often attacked EU demands, calling them a “threat” to MERCOSUR countries. “We seek an agreement that preserves the potential of the parties and responds to current and future challenges,” he said on Monday.

MERCOSUR leaders consider the EU’s terms unacceptable, arguing that they have already signed international agreements to protect rainforests and labor standards.

The countries pushing most for the extra safeguards – France, Ireland and the Netherlands – have large dairy and beef industries that would face low-cost competition from South America if the deal is ratified.

Speaking on the sidelines of the summit, the outgoing Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, said he was “cautiously optimistic” about an agreement this year. “I think in Brazil they were somewhat irritated by the lesson presented by Europe,” he said “(but) stability clauses are important for a country like mine.”

Jordi Cañas, the Spanish MEP who chairs the European Parliament’s Mercosur delegation, told the FT that Lula’s government should be trusted to protect the Amazon. “He’s right. The extra equipment is just a justification for blocking the deal for other reasons.

“If you want to stop deforestation, sign the agreement. Your impact on combating deforestation is high.

But Alberes said that decisions would not be taken at the summit. “It is about creating a political climate that we want to move forward. And that’s something we’re going to achieve.”

Reviving ties will be crucial if the EU is to compete with China, which has become South America’s biggest trading partner over the past decade, and ensure better access to the region’s abundant raw materials for green technology.

Describing the event as “the starting point for a new relationship between the European Union and Latin America”, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said: “Europeans do not pay enough attention to Latin America. Along with this a new geopolitical scenario has to be taken into account.

Additional reporting by Laura Dubois and Henri Foy in Brussels