Belgian Newspaper Suggests EU Sanctions on Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – After a few days ago two top German media were still toying with the idea of imposing sanctions on Brazil, an influential Belgian newspaper is now taking the first step by openly suggesting them.

In the aftermath of the meeting of the world’s seven largest economies in Biarritz, France, the Belgian newspaper EUobserver, one of Belgium’s more significant news sites, published an opinion article stating that the time has come for the European Union to apply economic sanctions to Brazil due to the current environmental context of the country.

The article states that the burning in the Amazon at this time is not new, but the new fact is “the evident political responsibility of the Brazilian leadership for its destruction.” The publication points out that in a normal context, one might expect a “high sense of political responsibility from the leader of the country where the natural treasure is located, but unfortunately, this is definitely not the case.”

Next, the text discusses the statements that the president of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro, has already made about the Amazon region. “Bolsonaro strongly promised during his campaign to explore the region and reverse protection measures for the forest and its people. He also promised to end the demarcation of new indigenous lands, reduce the power of environmental agencies and free up mining and industrial agriculture in indigenous reserves,” the opinion piece points out.

Against this background, the article states that the European Union cannot be inert or take moderate action against Brazil. “It’s time to take decisive action and warn the Brazilian president by imposing considerable sanctions if his government continues its current policy,” says the text, which says the EU has a “much larger economy than Brazil and a huge political influence to push for this path.”

Finally, the text reinforces that the EU is Brazil’s second-largest trading partner, accounting for 18.3 percent of its total trade, while Brazil is the 11th trading partner of the European bloc, “accounting for only 1.7 percent of its total EU trade in 2017 “. In this scenario, “the EU could absorb any negative effects of sanctions by diversifying its trade with other partners in South America and other parts of the world.”

EUobserver is a European online newspaper, launched in 2000 by the Brussels-based organization EUobserver.com ASBL.

The newspaper provides both daily reports and in-depth coverage on international affairs related to the European Union (EU). It is regarded as one of the first English language media outlets dedicated to the reporting of EU affairs, since joined by The Brussels Times, EURACTIV and Politico Europe.

The newspaper claims both financial independence from EU institutions and daily circulation of 60,000. It relies on a growing social media following on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, which the company claims have risen to around 280,000 overall followers as of 2017.