President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva celebrated the approval of the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, confirmed in the early afternoon of this Friday (9) the approval by a large majority of Member States. On social media, Lula stated that it was “a victory for dialogue”.
“A victory for dialogue, negotiation and commitment to cooperation and integration between countries and blocs”, stated the president.
Lula highlighted that the agreement, in addition to bringing benefits to both blocs, is “a sign in favor of international trade”. The Brazilian president was active in creating this agreement and tried to finalize it at the end of last year, when Brazil presided over the South American bloc. For Lula, the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union was a priority.
The president also stated that it was a “historic day for multilateralism” and recalled the long negotiation, lasting 25 years, until the conclusion of the agreement.
“Historic day for multilateralism. After 25 years of negotiation, the Mercosur-European Union Agreement was approved, one of the largest free trade agreements in the world. The decision endorsed by the European side unites two blocs that, together, add up to 718 million people and a GDP of US$22.4 trillion.”
Multilateralism, cited by Lula, is the practice that promotes cooperation between multiple countries to promote the interests common to all in international relations. It is a practice opposite to unilateralism, when the country acts on its own, and is also different from bilateralism, when there is an association of just two countries.
Signature
With the result confirmed, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will be able to travel to Paraguay next week to ratify the agreement with the member countries of Mercosur – a bloc formed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. In December 2025, Paraguay assumed the rotating pro-tempore presidency of the bloc.
Mercosur countries need to do the same and submit the final document to their parliamentarians, but entry into force is individual, that is, there is no need to wait for approval from the parliaments of the four member states.
Itamaraty and MDIC
In noteItamaraty and the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (MDIC) welcomed the approval of the signing of the agreement. “This is the largest trade agreement negotiated by Mercosur and one of the largest among those agreed by the European Union with commercial partners”, maintain the departments.
* Article expanded at 3:50 pm to add the position of Itamaraty and MDIC.
