The demands of the European Union to Mercosur in environmental matters are “very harsh,” said the president-elect of the Republic, Santiago Peña, on Tuesday in Brasilia, who nevertheless expressed his optimism that both blocs ratify their 2019 trade agreement.
Source: AFP
“We are in favor of this agreement” between the EU and Mercosur, also made up of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, said Peña, who won his country’s presidential elections 15 days ago.
But “We also share Brazil’s position that some restrictions, mainly in environmental terms, are very harsh for a region of the world that needs to develop,” he told reporters at the Planalto presidential palace after meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
For Peña, who said “think positive” about negotiations, Mercosur countries have to be “careful with the environment” but at the same time they must face their development based on their own interests.
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The EU and Mercosur closed a trade agreement in 2019, after more than 20 years of complex negotiations, but this It was not ratified due, among other things, to concern in Europe about the environmental policy of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
The tone has changed in favor as a result of the return to power of the leftist Lula, last January, although new conditions presented by the European Union on environmental issues have created tensions.
The Brazilian foreign minister, Mauro Viera, criticized the “very protectionist” vision of the EU and its “extremely” harsh environmental goals, during a hearing in his country’s Senate last week.
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European farmers fear that more South American agricultural products will enter the market, with less stringent production standards, they allege.
For example, unlike the EU, Brazil has not banned antibiotic growth promoters in animal feed.
Mercosur countries prepare a counterproposal although they have not yet defined a date to present it.
