In a phone call, Lula and Macron talk about Trump’s Peace Council

Presidents also discussed the Mercosur-EU trade agreement

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, spoke this Tuesday morning (27) about the Peace Council’s proposal. The call lasted about an hour.

The collegiate was designed, created and is chaired by the President of the United States, Donald Trump to, according to him, pacify and rebuild the Gaza Strip.

In the phone call, Lula and Macron defended the strengthening of the United Nations (UN) and agreed that initiatives in matters of peace and security must be aligned with the mandates of the Security Council and the principles and purposes of the UN Charter. The content of the conversation between the presidents was published by Palácio do Planalto.

Lula was one of the leaders invited to take a seat on the council, but has not yet responded to the invitation. Last week, at an event in Salvador, he even criticized the proposal to create the Peace Council, stating that Trump wants to create a new UN to be the owner. France was also invited, but has already denied the invitation.

In recent weeks, Lula has made and received calls from important world leaders, including the president of China, Xi Jinping; from Russia, Vladimir Putin; from Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan; from Colombia, Gustavo Petro; Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi; from Spain, Pedro Sánchez; from Canada, Mark Carney; and the president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum.

This Monday (26), Lula even spoke with President Trump. He suggested that the Peace Council include a seat for Palestine and limit itself to discussing issues related to the Gaza Strip. A visit by Lula to the United States was also agreed upon, later this year, on a date to be defined.

Venezuela

In the phone call, Lula and Macron also exchanged views related to Venezuela.

According to Planalto, both condemned the use of force in violation of international law and agreed on the importance of peace and stability in South America and the world.

On January 3, the United States bombed Venezuela and kidnapped the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores. The two were taken to the United States and Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez took over interim command of the country.

Mercosur-EU Agreement

Furthermore, the leaders of Brazil and France discussed the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. Lula reaffirmed his view that the partnership is positive for both blocs and “constitutes an important contribution to the defense of multilateralism and rules-based trade”.

The agreement was signed on January 17th this year, after 26 years of negotiation. However, on the 21st, the European Parliament decided to ask the Court of Justice of the European Union for a legal assessment of the commercial partnership with South Americans. In practice, the measure paralyzes the process of implementing the agreement; the court usually takes about two years to issue an opinion.

France is one of the countries opposing ratification on the grounds that the agreement threatens local agriculture by creating “unfair competition” with cheaper imports from Mercosur.

Finally, President Lula and President Macron continued their frequent dialogue on bilateral cooperation, especially on defense, science and technology and energy issues. In this regard, they committed to instructing their technical teams to finalize ongoing negotiations, with a view to concluding agreements in the first half of 2026.

With information from Agência Gov and Agência Brasil on 01/27/2026