During a visit to Brazil as part of an international programme to boost Ireland during St Patrick’s Day week, Eamon Ryan, the Minister for Climate and Green Party leader, voiced his support for the efforts made by numerous European Union (EU) member states to revise a trade agreement with the Mercosur coalition of South American countries, with the aim of bolstering environmental safeguards. Mr. Ryan asserted that the EU was entirely right in its aim to maintain high ecological criteria for global trade, highlighting the importance of preventing EU trade policies from leading to deforestation beyond its own member states.
In 2019, the European Union and the Mercosur nations, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, settled on an extensive trade pact after twenty years of discussions. Yet, amidst strong objections from European agriculturalists and environmental bodies revealing deep anxiety over the role the Brazilian beef industry plays in Amazon deforestation, the agreement has yet to gain ratification. Among member states expressing their refusal to approve the deal in its present state are France and Ireland.
Brazil, as the leading Mercosur member state, has batted away demands to reshuffle its deal, despite talks being currently on hold owing to the forthcoming elections for a new EU Parliament, which – together with its member states – is needed to endorse the agreement. Mr. Ryan suggested bridging the divide between the two factions was not an unattainable aim.
During his week-long journey, where he met with a range of environmental and indigenous organisations, Mr. Ryan underscored the necessity of maintaining environmental standards, stating that any diminishing of these standards would be against the interests of not only Brazil, but also Ireland and Europe.
During his visit to the Amazonian city of Belém, which is set to host the COP30 summit next year, Mr Ryan had a meeting with Brazil’s environment minister, Marina Silva. He commended the Brazilian authorities’ initiative to establish a task force centered on financing the shift to renewable energy worldwide within the G20, a collective of significant economies. According to him, incorporating objectives into G20 declarations facilitates easier consensus at COP. Additionally, the topic of Gaza’s crisis was deliberated upon in a meeting with Brazilian Foreign Minister, Mauro Vieira. Both Ireland and Brazil have been outspoken critics within their territorial reaches of Israel’s military reaction to the Hamas offensive on October 7th.
Mr Ryan and his Brazilian counterpart conferred on the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Despite condemning Russia’s incursion, Brazil has refrained from initiating sanctions against Moscow, which is Brazil’s primary diesel supplier and key fertiliser provider for its expanding agricultural industry. Although critical of the invasion, Brazil’s President Lula placed equivalent blame for the conflict on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged the US to halt financial aid to Kyiv to push it towards negotiations. Forthcoming, he is set to partake in a summit of the BRIC countries, hosted by Putin in Kazan in October.
Mr Ryan cautioned his Brazilian colleague not to underrate European unity in backing Ukraine, stating it would be an error.