The Planalto Palace informed this Wednesday (7/5) that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will represent Brazil at the Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU), scheduled for the on the 17th and 18th of July, in the city of Brussels, capital of Belgium and the European bloc.
Until then, the Brazilian government’s decision was to send vice president Geraldo Alckmin to that event, while Lula would make a series of trips to Brazil throughout this month.
The change in attitude took place this Wednesday, after the Brazilian representative received a call from Spanish President Pedro Sánchez, who also occupies the pro tempore presidency of the Council of the European Union, the main body of the bloc, which brings together the heads of state of the 27 countries. members.
In the conversation, Sánchez invited Lula to participate in the summit in Brussels and emphasized the importance of him being the representative of Brazil and Mercosur at the event, since he assumed this Tuesday (04/07) the pro tempore presidency of the common market of South American countries.
According to Agência Brasil, another argument used by the Spanish president was the fact that the summit has not taken place since 2015 and that this would be an opportunity to resume this multilateral integration space.
Sánchez invited Lula to give one of the opening speeches of the Summit’s Business Forum, in which the Spanish president himself and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, should also speak.
At the forum, new European investments in Latin America will be announced and topics related to multi-racialism and international conflicts will also be discussed.
Lula’s participation in the event comes at a time when the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union is stalled due to demands made by some European countries, which have been the target of criticism from South American governments, including the Brazilian.
In his statement during the summit of Mercosur heads of state, this Tuesday (04), Lula said that “we need a decision that includes policies in which both sides end up winning. We do not want a policy in which they (Europeans) win and we (South Americans) lose”.
With information from Agência Brasil.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
