Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticised the European Union for making environmental demands during negotiations of a free trade deal.
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00:00 Brazil`s president Lula da Silva is warning against European protectionism. He says that
00:07 the ratification of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement should happen by the end of the
00:12 year. But he wants an equal partnership between the two sides.
00:18 He was speaking in Brussels on Wednesday following a summit between the EU and Latin America,
00:22 where he made it clear that both sides have the right to protectionism, even if it isn`t
00:26 the best way forward.
00:28 "France is very anxious about the protection of its agricultural products, of its small
00:36 and medium agriculture, of its chicken, of its vegetables, of its cheese, of its milk,
00:42 of its wine. So, in the same way that France has this primacy of defending its productive
00:54 heritage, we have an interest in defending ours. The richness of the negotiation is that
01:03 someone has to give up."
01:04 A letter from the EU side was sent to Mercosur countries back in February with demands on
01:09 the environmental preservation of the Amazon rainforest. It`s another obstacle to the signing
01:15 off of the trade agreement with the bloc, which is made up of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay
01:19 and Uruguay.
01:20 "First of all, we don`t accept the letter from the EU. It`s impossible to imagine that
01:32 among historical partners like us, someone would send a letter threatening us. We don`t
01:40 have a problem. We sent a letter and we think that the EU will agree with our answer."
01:49 When it comes to Latin America`s position on the war in Ukraine, Lula da Silva stressed
01:53 the need to work quickly towards a ceasefire and again offered his mediation skills.
01:58 "For now, neither the heirs nor the putsch want to draw a draw, because everyone thinks
02:03 they will win. But there is a fatigue. The world is getting tired. The countries are
02:12 getting tired. So, there will come a time when there will be peace. And then there will
02:18 be a group of countries capable of talking to Russia and talking to Ukraine."
02:25 After hours of long discussions, the final declaration from the EU Latin America summit
02:29 showed the stark difference of opinions on the war in Ukraine on both sides of the Atlantic.
02:34 The statement referring to the conflict was weak, without even mentioning Russia.
02:38 "We are not going to let them do it. We are not going to let them do it. We are not going
02:39 to let them do it. We are not going to let them do it. We are not going to let them do
02:40 it. We are not going to let them do it. We are not going to let them do it. We are not
02:41 going to let them do it. We are not going to let them do it. We are not going to let them
02:42 do it. We are not going to let them do it. We are not going to let them do it. We are not