German Chancellor Olaf Schultz | Credit: Reuters/Lizzie Nessner
The German Chancellor, Olaf Schultz, officially announced, during his visit to Brazil, next Monday, the release of 31 million euros – about 170 million riyals – for the Amazon fund, according to Ambassador Kenneth Nobrega, Secretary for Europe at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The resources will be divided into two parts, 10 million euros for bioeconomy projects in the Amazon region and another 21 million euros for combating deforestation.
In December, after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s election was confirmed, Germany and Norway, the two main financiers of the Amazon fund, had already committed to releasing new resources for the fund, with Germany promising to implement €35m quickly.
The Brazilian government has also received positive signals from other potential donors, such as the United Kingdom, who may participate in the fund.
Germany and Norway froze the release of resources to the Amazon Fund in 2019, when Jair Bolsonaro’s government raised suspicions of irregularities in the activities of NGOs that received resources from the fund. Then-Minister of the Environment, Ricardo Sales, changed the rules for managing the fund without consulting donors, and the fund has been suspended ever since.
European Union – Mercosur
Schulz arrives in Brazil for a one-day official visit on Monday, and the release of resources to the Amazon Fund will be the main action of the meeting – the first single visit of a head of state that Lula has received after taking office.
However, one of the central topics of conversation should revolve around the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, which the president wants to see move quickly. The agreement was initially signed in Jair Bolsonaro’s government, and it did not go forward due to Europeans’ resistance to Bolsonaro’s environmental policy.
The Brazilian government wants to take advantage of the pause to review some points of the trade agreement, which is seen as very beneficial to the Europeans, and at the same time it will reaffirm the environmental commitments demanded by the Europeans.
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