I hope the EU manages to reach an agreement with Mercosur, says the vice of the European Commission

Executive vice-president of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis reinforced this Friday (20) the desire that the European Union manages to finalize a trade agreement with Mercosur.

The topic was mentioned briefly by him during a panel on Russia at the World Economic Forum.

“I hope there is an impulse to unblock the impasse and finalize the agreement with Mercosur”, he commented, in Davos, Switzerland.

The statement was given at a time when the also trade commissioner of the EU’s executive arm was mentioning the bloc’s recent efforts.

Dombrovskis also highlighted a trade agreement signed in December with Chile in the region, and commented that there is an effort in the bloc to diversify channels, including in the energy sector, in the face of recent tensions with Russia.

He also cited the intention to strengthen trade relations with Mexico.

Also in Davos, the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva, had stated last Tuesday that Brazil will revisit the agreement between Mercosur and the EU.

Russia

Valdis Dombrovskis defended this Friday the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia, because of the war in Ukraine.

Also Commissioner of Commerce of the executive arm of the European Union, he highlighted the fact that the Russian economy contracted last year and should have an even greater decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year.

Dombrovskis highlighted the “pressure in the energy sector” suffered by Russia. On the other hand, he admitted that the country was helped by record prices in this sector, an increase driven in part by the conflict in Ukraine itself.

According to the official, the set of sanctions “is really comprehensive” and “has a cumulative effect”. He mentioned the effort to stop depending on Russia for energy and reinforced support for Ukraine so that the country can “win this war”.