Mercosur leaders, meeting on Saturday (December 20) in Foz de Iguacu, reviewed stalled trade discussions, with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva urging political will from Europe to finalize a trade agreement and outlining future priorities as Paraguay assumes bloc leadership.

"Europe has not yet made up its mind," Lula da Silva said, addressing delays in finalizing the long-pending Mercosur-European Union trade deal and adding that European leaders asked for more time to discuss additional agricultural protection measures.

Lula expressed optimism that the EU deal could proceed early next year, aligned with the start of Paraguay's presidency under Santiago Pena.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and EU executive chief Ursula von der Leyen expressed confidence on Friday (December 19) that the European Union would be able to sign a contentious free trade agreement with South American bloc Mercosur in January, despite insufficient backing at an EU summit.

The Brazilian leader highlighted Mercosur's progress in trade negotiations beyond the European Union, including advances with Canada, India, the United Arab Emirates, and exploratory talks with Vietnam and Japan.

Lula also called for restraint concerning Venezuela as the U.S. military continues to build up its military forces in the Caribbean. The leader stated at the meeting that an armed intervention in Venezuela "would be a humanitarian catastrophe for the hemisphere."

The Trump administration has sent thousands of troops to the region, along with an aircraft carrier, warships and fighter jets, carried out strikes against suspected drug vessels in the region, seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, and declared a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

FOZ DE IGUACU, BRAZIL (DECEMBER 20, 2025) (BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT TV - Access all)

1. BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA MEETING WITH MERCOSUR MEMBERS

2. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA SAYING:

“Europe has not yet made up its mind. European leaders have asked for more time to discuss additional agricultural protection measures. Yesterday, the presidents of the European Council and the European Community received a letter in which they both expressed their expectation that the agreement will be approved in January. Without political will and courage on the part of leaders, it will not be possible to conclude negotiations that have been dragging on for 26 years.”

3. MEETING IN PROGRESS

4. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA SAYING:

"(Italian Prime Minister Giorgia) Meloni said that the distribution of the budget for agriculture in the European Union was hurting Italy and that she was therefore having problems with agricultural producers and could not sign the agreement at this time. So I had a phone conversation with her and she said, verbatim, that at the beginning of January she will be ready to sign, if she is ready to sign and only France is missing, according to Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, there will be no possibility of France alone not allowing the agreement, the agreement will be signed and I hope it will be signed, could be, in the first month of Paraguay's presidency by comrade Santiago Peña. We are going to push for things to happen for the good of our Mercosur, for the good of multilateralism, and for the good of the development of our countries."

5. MERCOSUR MEMBERS APPLAUDING.

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA SAYING:

“More than four decades after the Falklands War, the South American continent is once again astonished by the military presence of a foreign power. The limits of international law are being tested. An armed intervention in Venezuela would be a humanitarian catastrophe for the hemisphere and a dangerous precedent for the world.”

7. VARIOUS OF LULA SPEAKING.

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA SAYING:

“This semester, we began discussions on expanding the agreement with India, resumed attempts with Canada, and made progress in negotiations with the United Arab Emirates. We adopted frameworks for negotiating a strategic partnership with Japan and a tariff preference agreement with Vietnam. In the region, we hope to make rapid progress in negotiations on an agreement with Panama.”

9. MERCOSUR MEMBERS APPLAUDING

10. (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA SAYING:

"Today's meeting marks the end of my presidency and the beginning of the presidency of Santiago Pena, president of Paraguay, and I hope we will have 6 months of good cooperation, good business, and good international agreements. I can tell you that the world is eager to make agreements with Mercosur. There are many countries that want to make agreements with Mercosur, and we will certainly be able to make the agreements during this period that were not possible during my presidency."

11. MEETING IN PROGRESS