LONDON: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says he plans to discuss a prospective trade deal between the European Union and a bloc of South American countries when he meets his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, in France this week.
Lula said on Monday that he expected to discuss France’s “tough” stance on the proposed agreement between the EU and Mercosur, an economic bloc composed of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
“I’m going to have lunch with Macron. I want to talk about the hardening of the EU-Mercosur deal,” Lula, who also will travel to Italy and the Vatican on his European trip, told public broadcaster TV Brasil.
“The EU can’t try to threaten Mercosur with sanctions if we don’t do this or that. If we’re strategic partners, you can’t make threats. … You have to help.” –Agencies
