Mercosur-EU: Ursula von der Leyen reinforced her desire to sign an agreement in December, says Vieira.

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT IN BELÉM - The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira , declared this Wednesday evening, the 5th, that the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen , reiterated her expectation of signing the final text of the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union in December.

The European leader held a bilateral meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Belém, on the eve of the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (Conference of the Parties) .

In September, the European Commission validated the text of the treaty, and the draft was sent for analysis by the member states and the European Parliament, with the expectation of signing in December.

When questioned, Vieira agreed that it was possible to advance the discussion on an agreement between the two blocs, without going into details. "The Commission President reaffirmed her certainty, her belief, her firm hope that the agreement will be signed by the end of the year," he stressed.

Mauro Vieira also commented on President Lula's other bilateral meetings on Wednesday. The Brazilian government reinforced the need to expand climate finance. The focus of the meetings with world leaders was on tackling climate change, although other political issues were also discussed.

Earlier, the minister said that Lula would express "regional solidarity" with Venezuela during a meeting of Caribbean countries and the European Union in Colombia next weekend. Lula will participate in the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) on Sunday, the 9th.

When questioned again that evening, Vieira stated: "There are many issues of interest to both regions. One of the issues raised will be Venezuela , by countries in the region and also by countries of the European Union. What can be said about this is what is expected to happen," he declared.