Mercosur full-member presidents and their associate peers backed Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands in the framework of the 56th Heads of State summit, which took place in Paraguay through a video conference when the pro tempore chair was delivered by Brazil to Uruguay for the second half of 2020.
President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un abruptly cut short their two-day summit on Thursday after the two leaders failed to reach an agreement to dismantle that country’s nuclear weapons. Although Kim said he was ready in principle to denuclearize, he and Trump ended their meetings without sitting for a planned lunch and without participating in a joint signing ceremony.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his new Colombian counterpart, Juan Manuel Santos, will meet this week as the first step toward restoring diplomatic relations between the South American neighbours, officials said Sunday.
The recent resumption of negotiations for a cooperation and free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union will be at the heart of the EU/Brazil summit scheduled to begin Wednesday in Brasilia.
Uruguayan president José Mujica will be missing the coming Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union Summit scheduled for next week in Spain on medical grounds, it was reported officially and confirmed by the president.
The European Union and Mercosur will officially re-launch negotiations for a trade and cooperation agreement they have been discussing since 1999 in the coming Madrid summit, in spite of fears about their farm sectors from several European countries, said the EU representative for Paraguay and Uruguay.
Ten European countries, fearing the impact on agriculture, are openly challenging the EU decision to resume trade talks with Mercosur which is to be officially announced next Monday when the opening of the Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union Summit in Spain.
Chile’s president Sebastian Piñera has a busy schedule planned for the upcoming Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union Summit scheduled for Madrid early next week. Piñera will use the opportunity to explain exactly what he wants to do with his four years of presidency.
French resistance to the resumption of Mercosur European Union trade talks caused great disappointment among the block’s members, but Brazil believes it has a strong bargaining chip for a greater opening of the European agriculture market: the several billions US dollars fighter planes contract for the Brazilian Air Force.
Honduran president Porfirio Lobo will not attend the LAC-EU summit in Spain later this month, after South American leaders who do not recognize him as his country's legitimate leader threatened to pull out. However, he will attend the EU/Central America meeting, which will be held a day later.