Ireland and France have threatened to block the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement, which has taken 20 years to negotiate, over Brazil’s handling of the wildfire crisis in the Amazon rainforest. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and French President Emmanuel Macron have said they will vote against the trade deal between the European Union and South American trade bloc Mercosur unless Brazil takes action to protect the rainforest. More EU countries would need to join with Ireland and France to block the trade deal with Mercosur countries, which include Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Many in the international community have blamed Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for the record levels of rainforest destruction and Brazil’s apparent lack of environmental protection efforts as wildfires spread through an area often referred to as the lungs of the earth.
