Lula receives president of the European Economic and Social Committee

This Wednesday morning, April 10, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received the president of the European Economic and Social Committee, Oliver Röpke, and the European Union ambassador to Brazil, Marian Schuegraf. The chief minister of Brazil’s Institutional Relations Secretariat (Secretaria de Relações Institucionais), Alexandre Padilha, also attended the meeting.

Röpke is visiting Brazil in the context of the close cooperation between the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and Brazil’s Council for Sustainable Economic and Social Development (Conselho de Desenvolvimento Econômico Social Sustentável/CDESS), established in 2003, and the resumption of the EU-Brazil Round Table, a forum for permanent dialogue.

President Lula was congratulated by Röpke for his work in defending democracy against political extremism; combating poverty and deforestation; and promoting these issues within the scope of the Brazilian G20 presidency. Both leaders share a history of defending the labor agenda and participating in the trade union movement.

The conversation also addressed the energy transition and Brazil's enormous potential for renewable energy production—as well as the convergent interest of Brazil and the EU in strengthening the connection of civil society to the socio-environmental agenda. The European delegation highlighted the relevance of initiatives such as the Program “Union with Municipalities to Reduce Deforestation and Forest Fires in the Amazon” (Programa União com os Municípios pela Redução do Desmatamento e Incêndios Florestais na Amazônia) launched on April 9.

In this regard, President Lula highlighted the importance of engaging municipalities towards the sustainable development of the Amazon: "Work and income opportunities must be created so that local populations are aware that the rainforest is worth more when it is standing." Lula also noted the large number of conservation areas in Brazil and the approval of six new indigenous lands scheduled for the next few days.

Lula and Röpke also agreed as to the need to reform global governance institutions in the political, financial and environmental arenas. President Lula also highlighted the contradiction between the excess wealth concentrated in the developed world and the unpayable debts of poorest countries. "We need to find ways to convert these debts into investments in infrastructure, in education and in overcoming hunger and poverty.”