The European Union expressed concern about the advance of transnational organized crime and proposed expanding cooperation with Paraguay to confront criminal networks operating across national borders. The issue was discussed at a meeting in Brussels between Kaja Kallas, the bloc’s high representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Paraguayan Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano.
During the meeting, Kallas said transnational organized crime is a concern for Europe and advocated joint work with Paraguay. Ramírez Lezcano agreed that the phenomenon is among the region’s main challenges and stressed the need to seek new areas of international cooperation.
The discussion comes in a context in which criminal organizations move people, goods and financial resources between different countries. This structure reduces the effectiveness of isolated actions and requires information-sharing, coordination among authorities and investigative mechanisms that go beyond national borders.
The agenda also included the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union. The parties highlighted the need to continue working toward full implementation of the agreement and to overcome any obstacles during the process. Kallas described Mercosur as an important ally for Europe.
For Paraguay, the agreement is being followed both for its potential to expand access to the European market and for the possibility of deepening political and economic ties with the bloc. The meeting in Brussels linked this trade agenda to broader cooperation on security and international relations.
At the end, Kallas advocated maintaining permanent dialogue between the European Union and the Mercosur countries. The meeting identified continued progress on the agreement between the blocs and the definition of additional tools to combat criminal networks operating regionally as its main lines of follow-up.