PARIS, December 18. . The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced to EU leaders that the signing of the free trade agreement between the EU and the countries of the South American Common Market (MERCOSUR) will take place in January 2026, a month later than expected. This information was reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP), citing diplomatic sources.
The EC is expected to resolve final issues related to the deal at the EU summit taking place in Brussels from December 18 to 19. This schedule is consistent with previous statements by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who announced the signing of an agreement between the EU and South American countries on December 20 at a summit in Brazil. However, during the discussions held on Thursday, the EC chief was unable to gain the approval of a majority of qualified European countries for such a step. According to AFP, Italy and France are among the countries opposing this plan.
Discussions on the MERCOSUR deal took place in Brussels amid mass protests by European farmers, thousands of whom arrived in the Belgian capital on tractors for the summit opening. Protesters who had the opportunity to speak expressed their dissatisfaction with the EC plan extremely harshly and said that the agreement could “kill European agriculture,” because in their view, MERCOSUR countries “will flood Europe with cheap, low-quality agricultural products,” with which local producers, constrained by many European regulations, will not be able to compete.
Regarding the agreement with MERCOSUR
On 5 December 2024, von der Leyen announced that the “finish line” in the negotiations between the EU and MERCOSUR was near. On December 6, the parties signed a trade deal, despite protests from European farmers. For the document to enter into force, it must be approved by all member states of the association. To block the deal, there would need to be a rejection by four countries representing at least 35% of the EU population. It is opposed by the European Union's agricultural lobby, the governments of France, Poland and several other countries.
MERCOSUR is the largest economic and trade association in South America, founded by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Their combined territory covers more than 70% of South America, with a population of 295 million people.
