Following a fresh delay in concluding a free trade agreement between the European Union and the four Mercosur countries, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called on Europeans on Saturday to show more courage and political will.
“Unfortunately, Europe has not yet made a decision. European leaders have asked for more time to take additional measures to protect agriculture,” Lula said at the MERCOSUR summit in the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu.
He added that without the political will and courage of the leaders, it will be impossible to complete the negotiations, which have been going on for 26 years.
Lula: Meloni ready to sign contract in January
It was only on Wednesday that Lula gave the EU an ultimatum: “If we don’t do this now, Brazil will not have a deal while I’m president,” he told a government meeting.
However, the Brazilian President has now moved away from this position. Lula said he spoke by phone with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and she assured him she would be ready to sign the agreement in early January.
“The agreement will be concluded and I hope that it can be signed in the first month of the Paraguayan presidency. [of Mercosur] my colleague Santiago Peña,” Lula said. Pena is the President of Paraguay.
The necessary majority in the EU has not been formed
The agreement was originally due to be signed at a summit in Brazil on Saturday. However, Meloni recently announced that she is not yet ready to agree to the planned agreement with four countries: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, meaning the EU majority needed to sign will not materialize.
