EU’s Borrell arrives in Brazil with MERCOSUR, the Amazon and Venezuela on his agenda

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The plane carrying the head of European diplomacy landed in São Paulo at 4 PM local time. The flight came from Peru where he began his first trip to Latin America since taking office on December 1, 2019.

Borrell’s agenda in Brazil included a single activity in São Paulo, scheduled for yesterday evening, with members of the Eurochambers for a closed door discussion of the economic situation in Brazil, a “strategic partner” of the EU since 2007.

His political agenda will begin on Thursday in Brasilia, where his first engagement will be a working meeting with Foreign Minister Carlos França.

According to diplomatic sources, one of the main points of interest in this meeting will be negotiations to unblock the ratification process of the trade agreement between the EU and MERCOSUR, whose six-month presidency is held by Brazil until the end of this year.

The agreement was announced in 2019, after two decades of discussion, and has since been virtually paralyzed due to concerns in several EU countries over the aggressive policies imposed by the government of Jair Bolsonaro on the development of the Amazon region.

These policies, coupled with increased deforestation and fires in the Amazon, have led France, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland to reconsider their support to the trade agreement with the bloc that also includes Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

Last February, both parties agreed to negotiate an annex to the agreement referring exclusively to strengthening commitments to environmental protection, but a consensus on the drafting of this document has not yet been reached and the impasse persists.

According to diplomatic sources, such a text would help “restore confidence” mainly in Brazil and in the commitments it has made in relation to the preservation of the planet’s largest plant lung, which have been in doubt since Bolsonaro came to power.

VENEZUELA, MIGRATION AND A SHARED CONCERN

Another issue that Borrell will discuss with the Brazilian authorities will be the migratory processes, which are becoming more acute in Latin America and particularly in the case of Venezuela, from where it is estimated that in recent years some 6 million citizens have fled the economic, social and political crisis affecting the country.

According to official data, about 300,000 Venezuelans have migrated to Brazil, which since 2018 launched the so-called “Operação Acolhida” (Operation Reception), which offers them humanitarian aid and facilitates their integration in the country and access to the labor market.

This process is supported by United Nations agencies and the EU itself, which considers it as an “example of solidarity,” as the EU ambassador to Brazil Ignacio Ybáñez, of Spanish origin like Borrell, explained to foreign correspondents.

To underline this common concern for the migratory phenomenon and particularly with the Venezuelan crisis, Borrell scheduled a meeting for Friday with citizens of Venezuela who have settled in Brasilia in order to learn first-hand about their situation.

This issue will also be discussed in a meeting he will hold with Brazilian Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto, whose office is one of the main responsible for Operation Reception.

During his two-day stay in Brasilia, the EU representative also plans to attend an event organized jointly with the UN Women delegation, to discuss gender policies and measures for the “protection of women human rights defenders,” according to diplomatic sources.

For the full picture, see our Mercosur EU Trade Deal: Complete Guide.