Updated at 3:08 p.m.

President Milei harshly criticized Mercosur bureaucracy during his opening speech kicking off the bloc leader summit, calling it an “iron curtain” that member countries are “submitted to” and requesting conditions be “flexibilized.”

“We will begin a path of freedom, and we will do it accompanied or alone, because Argentina cannot wait,” Milei said. “We need more trade, more economic activity, more investment, and more work urgently. And for that, we need freedom, also urgently.”

Milei said that Mercosur was created with the “noble mission” of integrating the region’s economies. He claimed, however, that this mission was later “dragged down” by commercial operations done to “benefit certain sectors.”

“The barrier we initially put up to protect ourselves commercially ended up excluding us from international trade and competitiveness […] which contributed to slowing down our economies,” Milei said, adding that the bloc cut off “economic freedom” and took away opportunities from local businesses.

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The libertarian leader mentioned that Argentina sought to put an end during its pro tempore presidency to what he called “a destructive inertia.” He said that Argentina is looking to move towards “deeper commercial openness.”

“We must stop thinking about the Mercosur as a shield that protects us from the world and start thinking of it as a spear that allows us to effectively enter global markets,” Milei said. 

“As a bloc, we need to establish logical trade conditions.”

In March, Milei had said during a speech to kick off the legislative year in Congress that Argentina was looking for an “historic opportunity” to sign a free trade deal with the United States, something that Mercosur rules do not allow. At the time, he said it was necessary to “flexibilize” Mercosur and mentioned that it might even eventually lead to leaving the bloc

During his speech at the summit, Milei also called to not allow differences to “divide” them and thanked the other countries for their “unconditional” support for Argentina’s sovereignty claims over the Malvinas Islands. He also demanded the “immediate release” of Argentine military police officer Nahuel Gallo, who has been arrested in Venezuela since December on espionage charges.

The Mercosur members and the associated states signed a special declaration ratifying their support for “the legitimate rights of the Argentine Republic in the sovereignty dispute relative to the Malvinas Islands issue.”

In the declaration, they said that the “unilateral measures” taken by the United Kingdom in the area, such as exploration and exploitation of natural resources in the area, are “incompatible” with a United Nations resolution on the matter. They added that Argentina has the right to carry out legal action against those unauthorized activities. In addition, they agreed to request the UN to renew efforts toward finding a pacific solution to the dispute.

Mercosur during Argentina’s pro tempore presidency

Speaking with the Herald on the summit’s sidelines, PRO deputy Fernando Iglesias — who leads the Lower House foreign relations commission and participated in the activities — said that Argentina carried out “a very good presidency” despite “skepticism” about Milei leading the bloc.

“I believe that, more than eliminating bureaucracy, we need to make it more effective,” Iglesias said about Milei’s comments on the current Mercosur framework. “It’s not that Mercosur has a very large bureaucracy; it’s that it doesn’t work. I agree with his criticism.” 

He added that there seems to be a consensus regarding this, based on declarations made by Presidents Santiago Peña (Paraguay) and Lula da Silva (Brazil) at Thursday’s leaders summit.

During his closing speech, Minister Werthein mentioned the achievements that Mercosur reached during the past six months that Argentina was at the helm.

“This time was not exempt from difficulties and challenges, but we were able to build consensus from our differences, starting with an honest and open dialogue and building an environment of mutual trust.”

Werthein said that, among other things, they are working on projects regarding energetic integration and security due to the “increasing demand of energy use in the region.” He mentioned Argentina’s productive sectors, such as the gas and oil field Vaca Muerta.

He also highlighted the work carried out towards the signature of the Mercosur-European Union trade deal, which he said will happen in the next semester, as well as talks surrounding a potential agreement with the United Arab Emirates, which could conclude by the end of 2025.

According to Iglesias, the Mercosur is currently waiting for the EU to make definitions, which includes the European Commission submitting the proposal before the European Council for approval. “This will likely happen next week or the other, and we will work from there,” he said.

The Mercosur also needs legislative approval from each of their member countries. Iglesias said that his bloc, PRO — Milei’s La Libertad Avanza’s biggest ally in Congress — will support the agreement and that it will all “depend on what Peronism does.” Debate on this issue will also depend on whether Congress decides to address it before or after the renewal of legislative seats in December following the October midterms.

Editorial disclaimer: Although the UK refers to the territory as the “Falkland Islands,” Argentina strongly contests this name. The Buenos Aires Herald uses “Malvinas” to refer to the islands.