Mercosur Summit ends without EU deal, eclipsed by Venezuela fear

France President Emmanuel Macron last week renewed environmental concerns about the agreement, eroding optimism that had been growing that a resolution was finally in reach

Argentina's outgoing President Alberto Fernandez, from left, Paraguay's Santiago Pena, Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Uruguay's Luis Lacalle Pou and Bolivia's Luis Arce pose for a group photo during the Mercosur Summit at the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro

A Mercosur summit planned to conclude a landmark trade agreement with the European Union closed Thursday in Rio de Janeiro with no deal in sight and its leaders focused instead on preventing a burgeoning territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana.

The customs union made up of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay succeeded in formally adding Bolivia to its ranks and inked a smaller trade pact with Singapore — far from enough to cement it as a force for South American economic integration.