delayed

European farmers are protesting against the EU-Mercosur deal.

That is as signing has been postponed until January, due to disagreements in Europe.

The European-South American deal, planned for more than 25 years, would create the world’s largest free-trade zone.

So, why is there division?

Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault

Guests:

Pieter Cleppe – Editor-in-chief at BrusselsReport.eu
Ciaran Mullooly – Member of the European Parliament for the Independent Ireland group
Gustavo Ribeiro – Founder and editor-in-chief of the Brazilian Report online newspaper

Published on 18/12/2025 – 23:27 GMT+1
•Updated
23:35

Following tense negotiations among the 27 member states, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday pushed the signature of the contentious Mercosur agreement to January to the frustration of backers Germany and Spain.

The trade deal dominated the EU summit, with France and Italy pressing for a delay to secure stronger farmer protections, while von der Leyen had hoped to travel to Latin America for a signing ceremony on 20 December after securing member-state support.

Without approval, the ceremony can no longer go ahead. There is not set date.

“The Commission proposed that it postpones to early January the signature to further discuss with the countries who still need a bit more time,” an EU official told reporters.

After a phone call with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she supported the deal, but added that Rome still needs stronger assurances for Italian farmers. Lula said in separate comments that Meloni assured him the trade deal would be approved in the next 10 days to a month.

The Mercosur agreement would create a free-trade area between the EU and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. But European farmers fear it would expose them to unfair competition from Latin American imports on pricing and practices.

Meloni’s decision was pivotal to delay

“The Italian government is ready to sign the agreement as soon as the necessary answers are provided to farmers. This would depend on the decisions of the European Commission and can be defined within a short timeframe,” Meloni said after speaking with Lula, who had threatened to walk away from the deal unless an agreement was found this month. He sounded more conciliatory after speaking to Meloni.

Talks among EU leaders were fraught, as backers of the deal – concluded in 2024 after 25 years of negotiations – argued the Mercosur is an imperative as the bloc needs new markets at a time in which the US, its biggest trading partner, pursues an aggressive tariff policy. Duties on European exports to the US have tripled under Donald Trump.

“This is one of the most difficult EU summits since the last negotiation of the long-term budget two years ago,” an EU diplomat said.

France began pushing last Sunday for a delay in the vote amid farmers’ anger.

Paris has long opposed the deal, demanding robust safeguards for farmers and reciprocity on environmental and health production standards with Mercosur countries.

The agreement requires a qualified majority for approval. France, Poland and Hungary oppose the signature, while Austria and Belgium planned to abstain if a vote were held this week. Ireland has also raised concerns over farmer protections.

Italy’s stance was pivotal.

However, supporters of the agreement now fear prolonged hesitation could prompt Mercosur countries to walk away after decades of negotiations for good.

After speaking with Meloni, Lula said he would pass Italy’s request on to Mercosur so that it can “decide what to do.”

An EU official said contacts with Mercosur were “ongoing,” adding: “We need to make sure that everything is accepted by them.”

Published on 09/12/2025 – 16:37 GMT+1
•Updated
16:38

The European Commission confirmed to Euronews on Tuesday that draft legislation introducing a “buy European” approach to the single market has been delayed until January 2026.

Divisions among member states over imposing a “European preference” on non-European Union countries have prompted Commission vice president Stéphane Séjourné to postpone the proposal.

With competitors such as China and the United States putting pressure on EU industries, France launched the idea a few years ago to steer major contracts toward European industrial and tech champions, and it has since gained traction. But some governments remain concerned about its impact on EU businesses.

The issue was discussed on Monday at a meeting of industry ministers in Brussels. According to a document seen by Euronews, a group of nine countries – including Czechia, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Sweden and Slovakia – warned that the plan could have “consequences for effective competition, price and quality levels, and effects on businesses”.

Poland and the Netherlands also supported calls for an impact assessment.

“‘European preference’ criteria should be used only when other instruments have been carefully analysed and proved insufficient,” the document said, adding: “When used, the potential rules on European Preference need to focus on carefully defined strategic sectors, where the EU has a high-risk strategic dependency.”

A European preference for strategic sectors

According to an agenda seen by Euronews, the Commission’s proposal has now been rescheduled for 28 January 2026.

“We don’t want to apply European preference across the board,” the French delegate industry Sébastien Martin said, adding that it was nevertheless “essential to make progress” in sectors such as cars, chemicals, steel or pharmaceuticals.

Germany appeared aligned with France, questioning whether strategic vulnerabilities, monopolies held by non-EU countries, or advantages fuelled by subsidies – such as in China – might justify a European preference.

Imports of Chinese goods into the EU continue to raise concerns. The latest Chinese customs data show flows to the EU as a whole rising over the past year by 14.8%. That figure was 15.5% in Germany, 17.5% in France and 25.4% in Italy.