Brazil expects to finalize EU-Mercosur agreement by end of 2024

The meeting has renewed hopes that the agreement will soon conclude. Technical negotiations continued in the second half of the year but were in a holding pattern as they awaited the results of the European Parliament and European Commission elections.

Ursula von der Leyen supports the trade agreement, as does German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, with whom Mr. Lula also had a bilateral meeting in New York on Monday (23). Mr. Scholz has been a vocal advocate for the deal, unlike French President Emmanuel Macron, who has publicly expressed his opposition.

“Political leadership will support this final push,” a Brazilian official said. The assessment is that, regarding the trade aspect of the agreement, there are practically no pending issues. The instruction for the Commission and Brazilian negotiators will be to resolve the remaining details. “And finalize the negotiations, if possible by the end of the year,” the person added.

“Both sides are committed at the highest political level,” the source said. The Brazilian government believes that talks between Mr. Lula and Ms. Von der Leyen, held at Brazil’s UN mission in New York, were “excellent and aligned on the strategic importance of concluding the agreement, both for Mercosur and the European Union.”

The European Commission has the authority to finalize the agreement. The deals negotiated by the Commission are approved or rejected by a majority vote in the European Council (comprising 27 heads of state or government) and the European Parliament.

Brazil’s optimism is based on the fact that the countries opposing the agreement, led by France, do not have the 14 votes needed in the Council. The expectation is that Ms. Von der Leyen’s political group, though not holding a majority in Parliament, may coordinate the decision with other parties.

The trade section of the EU-Mercosur Agreement does not need to be voted on by national parliaments, where there could be opposition, but only the chapters on cooperation and political dialogue.

Another point is that the European anti-deforestation law “should not serve as a tool for the unilateral withdrawal of concessions negotiated in the agreement,” the source said.

On September 11, the Brazilian government sent a letter to the European Commission requesting a postponement of the bloc’s anti-deforestation regulation, known as EUDR. It was signed jointly by ministers Mauro Vieira, of Foreign Affairs, and Carlos Fávaro, of Agriculture.

During the bilateral meeting, no promise was made to postpone the rule, which is an internal matter for the bloc.

Fonte: Valor Internacional