The presidents of the Mercosur bloc are meeting this Saturday in Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, seeking a response to the postponement of the free trade agreement with the European Union, while evaluating approaches with other trading partners.
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The signing of the agreement, negotiated a quarter of a century ago, was planned at a meeting of representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
But the EU postponed it until January in the face of opposition from farmers, mainly from France and Italy.
The day before, the foreign ministers of Paraguay and Argentina had put pressure on the European bloc to sign it as quickly as possible.
— We are ready to move forward, knowing that Europe has its deadlines to resolve internal institutional problems, but at the same time, the deadlines are not infinite — Paraguayan Chancellor Rubén Ramírez told journalists after a meeting with his Mercosur counterparts.
A source from the European Commission and two diplomats indicated Friday in Brussels that the new date planned for the signing is January 12, in Paraguay, which will succeed Brazil in the rotating presidency of Mercosur at the end of the summit.
However, Ramírez said he had received “no official communication” on the matter.
The Argentine Chancellor, Pablo Quirno, called for “reviewing the priorities of Mercosur’s external relations and moving towards more agile bilaterals with concrete results”.
In addition to the president of the host country, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Argentine President Javier Milei will be present at the meeting in front of the imposing Iguaçu Falls; Paraguayan President Santiago Peña; his Uruguayan counterpart, Yamandú Orsi; and the President of Panama, José Raúl Mulino.
Farmers, particularly in France and Italy, are worried about the arrival of meat, rice, honey and soya from Mercosur countries, which are more competitive due to production standards considered less strict.
As patience with Europe begins to run out, the South American bloc is seeking trade ties with Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), the Paraguayan chancellor said.
The presidential summit also raises expectations for the meeting between Milei and Lula, presidents of the two largest economies in Mercosur and ideologically opposed.
Argentina’s ultraliberal president arrives in Foz do Iguaçu days after posting a map on his Instagram account that depicts Brazil and other left-wing countries in the region as a huge favela.
Argentina appears to be a futuristic country, just like Chile, where the extreme right has just established itself.
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