25/09/2023 (Agence Europe) – The President of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, said that the negotiations on the EU/Mercosur trade agreement have gone on long enough and that the EU must make up its mind. He told the UK’s Financial Times that he would end the negotiations, if they were still ongoing, when he takes over the Presidency of Mercosur in December 2023. According to him, the Brazilian President, Lula da Silva, shares this opinion. “It will be this year, or if not, it won’t happen at all. I am super firm about this”, he insisted to the Financial Times. In addition, he highlighted other free trade agreements that the Mercosur bloc can negotiate with other global partners. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said she also wants to conclude the discussions by the end of the year, but exchanges between the two blocs remain blocked on the same points (see EUROPE 13251/3). (LM)