30/08/2019 (Agence Europe) – In a letter sent to the Presidents of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council at the end of August, 26 NGOs - including Fern, Friends of the Earth Europe and Greenpeace - called on the European Union to put an end to its "complicity" in the deforestation of the Amazon. They point out in the letter that, as Brazil's second largest trading partner, it is the EU’s responsibility to use its position as leverage. According to the NGO Fern, the EU "can do so by passing new laws that will require companies to clean up their supply chains as well as identify and prevent any harm done to the environment or human rights". The signatories to the letter have adopted the same position as several Member States, calling for immediate suspension of the ratification process for the EU/Mercosur Free Trade Agreement, (see EUROPE 12312/1). To read the letter, go to: http://bit.ly/2Po8rbq (PH)