European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced to EU leaders that the signing of the free trade agreement between the EU and the countries of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) will take place in January 2026, a month later than planned, AFP reported, citing diplomatic sources.
The EC had hoped to resolve the final issues on the agreement at the EU summit, which is taking place in Brussels from December 18 to 19. This schedule is in line with earlier statements by Brazilian President Lula da Silva, who announced the signing of the agreement between the EU and the South American countries on December 20 at the summit in Brazil. During discussions on Thursday, however, the EC president failed to secure approval for such a move from a qualified majority of European countries. According to AFP, Italy and France are among those opposed.
Discussions on the agreement with MERCOSUR took place in Brussels amid mass protests by European farmers, thousands of whom arrived in the Belgian capital on tractors for the opening of the summit.
Demonstrators expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the EC's plans and claimed that the agreement could “kill agricultural Europe“, as they said MERCOSUR countries would “flood Europe with low-quality, cheap agricultural products“, with which local producers, constrained by numerous European regulations, would not be able to compete.