The European Union (EU) committed in a letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to sign the free trade agreement with Mercosur in early January, after internal disagreements which prevented him from signing the treaty this Saturday as planned.
The letter, dated Friday and made public this Saturday by the Brazilian presidency during the opening ceremony of the Mercosur summit, is signed by the president of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyenand by the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa.
“We would like to convey to you our firm commitment to proceed with the signing of the Association Agreement and the Interim Trade Agreement in early January, in a time to be agreed between the two parties” they say.
The European authorities “regretted” that The agreements would not have been signed this Saturday and they attributed the postponement to the fact that the Council’s internal procedures, necessary to authorize the signature, had not yet been finalized.
They added that they were working hard to Complete these steps as quickly as possible.
The signatories reaffirmed their commitment to signing the agreements, which they described as fundamental to strengthening the political, economic and strategic ties between the two regions.
The signing of the agreements, they said, sends a “powerful message about our collective determination” deepen cooperation based on shared values, mutual trust and long-term interests.
“We are convinced that leading this process towards A rapid conclusion will strengthen our shared commitments and generate clarity and confidence for all interested parties,” they said.
Von der Leyen and Costa They appreciated the efforts made by Brazil to, in its capacity as interim president of Mercosur, take steps to try to sign the agreement during the summit organized by the South American bloc this Saturday in the Brazilian city of Foz de Iguazú.
“In this sense, we hope that you will have the opportunity to consult the other Mercosur partners in Foz de Iguazú to contribute to the realization of these preparations, in a spirit of unity and shared responsibility for this historic step,” the letter said.
After France’s frontal rejection of the agreement and Italy’s last-minute doubts which prevented it from obtaining the necessary support to approve the signing of the agreements, the European Commission assured Friday that it had already succeeded in convincing the undecided countries and that it intended to sign the treaties on January 12.
The possible signing would be in Paraguaywhich receives this Saturday the provisional presidency of Mercosur from Brazil.
In the letter, European authorities thank the efforts made by Lula, one of the main drivers of the agreement.
“We would like to express to you our sincere thanks for his leadership and for his personal commitment to relations between the European Union and Mercosur. “His commitment and vision were instrumental in maintaining momentum and confidence at pivotal moments in our association,” they said.
During the opening ceremony of the Mercosur Summit, Lula said that while waiting for the European Union to resolve its internal disputes, the South American bloc would continue working on negotiations with other trading partners, among which he cited United Arab Emirates, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom and Vietnam.
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