Macron suggests Bolsonaro is practicing 'ecocide' and pushes against the European Union-Mercosur agreement.
French President Emmanuel Macron wants to criminalize "ecocide" to punish countries and leaders who attack the environment. He is also working to reject the free trade agreement between the European and South American blocs. According to Macron, in an indirect reference to Bolsonaro, it is necessary to include the term "ecocide" in international law so that leaders who are charged by their people with protecting natural heritage, and who deliberately fail to do so, are held accountable for their crimes before the International Criminal Court.
247 - French President Emmanuel Macron has increased pressure to reject the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur. He has joined forces with 265 civil society organizations in opposing the agreement. One of their targets is Jair Bolsonaro, who has adopted condemnable positions on environmental issues.
On Monday (29), the President of France expressed his support for classifying the crime of “ecocide” in international law, to prosecute, for example, those who do not protect ecosystems, reports the newspaper. Valor Econômico.
The pressure directly impacts the free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, whose approval by all countries of the bloc based in Brussels is becoming increasingly difficult.
Mobilization in Europe has grown because Germany, the most powerful country and largest economy in the European Union, assumes the rotating presidency of the bloc this Wednesday (July 1st) and has as one of its priorities to advance the ratification of the bi-regional agreement.
Addressing 150 members of the Citizens' Convention for Climate, Macron, weakened by the Green Party's advance in Sunday's municipal elections, vowed that no trade agreement with countries that do not respect the Paris Agreement will have France's support.
In a clear allusion to Jair Bolsonaro's negligence towards the environment, the French president spoke about the international classification of the crime of "ecocide," reminding participants that he was one of the first political leaders to use this term "when the Amazon was burning, a few months ago." Furthermore, he added: "I fully share the ambition you defend, your emotion in the face of actors who, consciously and with complete impunity, voluntarily destroy entire ecosystems."
The Brazilian government claims that Macron's position is related to European trade protectionism.