In a joint statement that gives no clues about the exact next steps in the progress of the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, the two blocs announced that they have closed a working schedule later this semester.

The agreement took place after two days of meetings, closed on Wednesday (8) in Buenos Aires, between the chief negotiators of both sides, as reported by Itamaraty.

The Mercosur delegation is chaired by Argentina and the European Delegation, the Foreign Service and the EU Directorate-General. The negotiations revolve around sustainable development in the economic, social and environmental areas.

"Faced with the new global political and economic scenario, aware of the strategic importance of the biregional relationship, both delegations agreed on the importance of intensifying dialogue to reach a mutually beneficial and balanced agreement," the statement said.

Since President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the elections in October last year, the European bloc has again talked about resuming negotiations on the trade agreement. On Tuesday (7), the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, came to deal with the subject.

EU-Mercosur Agreement

After 20 years of sewing, the agreement was closed in 2019, but ended up being paralyzed by pressurefrom the Northern bloc on the environmental area – especially on how Brazil was coordinating the protection of the Amazon and deforestation.

The government of Jair Bolsonaro, for its part, pointed out that European inertia was due to agricultural protectionism, especially in France.

Some MEPs claim that the text needs to be amended, but shortly after Lula's first trip abroad to participate in cop-27 in Egypt, the EU began to make predictions that the agreement could be ratified by the parliaments of the countries involved as early as 2023.

The European bloc has suggested only one additional document to the deal already closed in 2019 that will contain commitments from Brazil – and the Southern bloc – to the preservation of the environment.

Source: Canal Rural