On the eve of the signing of the Mercosur agreement, Lula receives European Union leaders in Rio for a photo

Farmers throw potatoes in a square in Belgium against the EU-Mercosur agreement President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) receives this Friday (16) at the Itamaraty Palace, in Rio de Janeiro, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the president of the European Council, António Costa. The meeting takes place one day before the signing of the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union in Asunción, Paraguay, on Saturday (17). The agenda is seen as a strategy to consolidate Brazil’s role as the main negotiator of the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. A joint statement is expected. The objective is to ensure that the political announcement of the treaty takes place in Brazilian territory. 👉🏽 For Brazilian diplomacy, this meeting will have greater weight than the ceremony in Asunción. The president wants to guarantee a “photo of victory” with the EU’s highest authorities. Furthermore, he avoids sharing the platform with the Argentine president, Javier Milei, with whom he maintains a formal and distant relationship. While the presidents of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay confirmed their presence at Saturday’s event, Brazil will be represented only by Chancellor Mauro Vieira, Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Brazilian government minimizes Lula’s absence and criticizes what it classifies as Paraguay’s “political movement”. According to the government, the Paraguayans tried to elevate the meeting to the level of heads of state at the last minute. Itamaraty’s assessment that the competence of the chancellors, and Saturday’s act will only be a formality after the political seal given by Lula in Rio. President Lula in a meeting with the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen Ricardo Stuckert/PR Seam with Italy The feasibility of the agreement with European approval went through a direct seam between Lula and the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni. Government sources said that, in a call at the end of 2025, shortly before the Foz do Iguaçu Summit, Meloni confessed to Lula that he was experiencing a “political embarrassment” with Italian farmers at the time and asked the Brazilian president for patience. The request for postponement made by the Italian was what allowed the Italian government to align itself with Germany and Spain, isolating resistance from France, from President Emmanuel Macron, and ensuring that the text would arrive ready for signature this week. ‘Biggest trade agreement in the world’, says chancellor The Brazilian chancellor, Mauro Vieira, stated, in an interview with GloboNews, that the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union can be considered the biggest trade agreement in the world, bringing together 720 million inhabitants in the two blocs and representing around 15% of world GDP. “This agreement is very important, it is considered the largest trade agreement in the world, and if it is not the largest it is one of the largest. And associating two regions that have many things in common, have a common history, have a common culture, have traditionally had great commercial ties”, stated the Brazilian Foreign Minister. Vieira also highlighted the representativeness of the group that emerges with the integration between the two blocs, and how this also arouses the interest of other countries in expanding trade relations with Brazil. “This new group that is being born is a very representative group because, of the seven members of the G7, three are members of the European Union and will participate in this agreement. And there are three others, Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom, which are not members of the European Union, but have already expressed their interest in discussing a trade agreement with Brazil as well”, highlighted the minister. Despite the criticisms that were made before the agreement was concluded, the Brazilian chancellor states that the advantages will be a two-way street. “This agreement will bring many advantages, it will also allow us to import, in addition to exporting manufactured goods to the European Union, we will be able to import capital goods that will be produced more efficiently, cheaper in Brazil, machines, equipment. I think the agreement, and all analyzes lead to this conclusion, that the agreement is beneficial for both sides”, added the minister.

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