June 22 (Reuters) - Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday the European Union should stop adopting a protectionist stance if it wants to reach a long-delayed trade deal with the Mercosur bloc. The EU and the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay completed negotiations in 2019 but the deal has been on hold due to concerns about Amazon deforestation and Brazil's commitment to climate change action. "The additional letter the EU sent to Mercosur is unacceptable because they punish any country that did not comply with the Paris Agreement," Lula told a news conference on the final day of his trip to Italy. "Not even them (EU) complied with the Paris Agreement. Lula said the Mercosur bloc was preparing its response and urged EU countries to be more "sensitive and humble".

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Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, Emmanuel Macron, Catarina Demony, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Union, Mercosur, EU, Thomson Locations: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Mercosur, Paris, Italy, France, Marcron, South America