EU Vice President Josep Borrell stated on Thursday (November 4) that the administration of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (Jair Bolsonaro) has shown a new commitment to end illegal forests in the Amazon Felled and realized that this is an obstacle to improving relations with Europe.
Borrell met with Bolsonaro during his first visit to Brazil by a senior EU representative in nine years. He also held talks with the Minister of Environment and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
I was received by the president @jairbolsonaro Today, this is the EU’s first political visit to Brazil since 2012.
We exchanged views on issues such as the environment, climate, and recovery after the epidemic. It is important that the EU and Brazil lead these efforts as global players. pic.twitter.com/Jc9VVmboer
-Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) November 4, 2021
“The will is there because the ministers know that ending the illegal exploitation of the Amazon rainforest is good for Brazil,” he told Reuters by phone.
Borrell meets Bolsonaro in Brazil and welcomes pledge to end deforestation
In the UN climate negotiations in Glasgow this week, Brazil joined more than 100 countries that pledged to end deforestation by 2030. Brazil owns 60% of the Amazon rainforest, which is the largest rainforest in the world, but its damage has soared since Bolsonaro took office in 2019.
Borrell said Brazil’s global commitment to reducing methane gas emissions from Brazil’s agriculture is another step in the right direction.
“We need Brazil to participate in global efforts to combat climate change. The world needs Brazil,” he said.
The European Union is the main destination for illegal logging of timber in the Amazon, which often carries false documents about the origin of the timber.
Borrell stated that the European Union intends to strengthen document verification of timber imported from Brazil to combat illegal trade worth billions of dollars each year.
“We must do our part to combat this situation,” he said.
He said that if the credibility of the environment, especially tropical rain forest deforestation, is not improved, member states will not approve the trade agreement between the EU and the South American Mercosur trade group, which has been in place for two decades.
“Obviously, there is serious resistance to ratification of the agreement in some countries that believe that their environmental protection is insufficient,” he said.
An annex to the agreement containing environmental commitments has not yet been drafted. “We are working hard. This is harder than it seems,” Borrell said.
European diplomats said they did not give up the Mercosur Agreement, but the European Commission is unlikely to submit it to the European Council anytime soon.
A diplomat who understands the matter said: “Brazil has done a lot better, but more needs to be done to improve its image.”
