Lula asks Macron and Meloni to “take their responsibilities” and support the Mercosur-EU agreement

In a speech at a meeting of the Council for Social Participation, at the Palácio do Planalto, Lula said that the EU and Mercosur wanted to sign the agreement, negotiated for at least 26 years, but he cited the obstacle of the position of the French government, which opposes the signing of the document and is pushing to postpone it.

— Right now the European Union is willing to do a deal, Mercosur is willing to do it, and a little problem has arisen. President Macron of France is very worried about rural producers, who believe they will lose their competitiveness in the conflict with Brazil. They are not willing to make a deal now because people are a bit rebellious in France. Even though I told him that Brazil does not compete with French agricultural products. In fact, they are different things, they are different qualities and we give in more than they are — said Lula.

The president urged the French leader to reconsider his position and also cited Meloni. Italy is in favor of the agreement, but it has hesitated in recent days on the possibility of approving a postponement of the signing. The Italian government has come under pressure from other EU member countries to support the approval of the agreement and guarantee its signing on December 20 in Foz do Iguaçu.