Italy called on Wednesday in a letter to EU’s Agriculture Commissioner ChristopheHansen to lift the bloc’s carbon border tax in order to ease pressure on fertilizer prices for European farmers. The date for the Mercosur signature is still not clear.
Expectations for Rome to greenlight the trade deal had risen in Brussels after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged on Tuesday to unlock additional funding for farmers to the tune of €45 billion as soon as 2028 in a designed to sway the pivotal support of the Italian government in favour of the deal.
“If in today’s meeting these conditions are certified by the Commission, Italy will support the deal (Mercosur),” Meloni’s agriculture minister Francesco Lollobrigida told reporters in Brussels.
Italy’s request comes as the Commission convened EU agriculture ministers in Brussels on Wednesday for talks on the future Common Agricultural Policy funding -a key piece of the common budget and highly sensitive to domestic politics – and reciprocity in production standards between Latin America and Europe, a key French demand.
France still opposes the Mercosur deal.
Farmers furious as Mercosur enters final stretch
The Mercosur agreement would create a free-trade area between Latin America, including heavyweight economy Brazil and the EU, cutting tariffs across sectors the board for European companies but also opening market access to Latin America.
Italian farmers, alongside France, Poland and Ireland, fear the deal with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay will expose them to unfair competition.
Italy’s backing of the deal is essential to reach a qualified majority of member states needed to support it, or a blocking minority as a tiebreaker.
It’s another crucial week for the contentious Mercosur deal. European Union agriculture ministers will meet on Wednesday for key political talks that could lead to a vote on the agreement on Friday.
An EU diplomat told Euronews that the meeting, which is being organised by the European Commission, will be attended by EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič, Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen, and Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare Olivér Várhelyi.
Together, they are expected to give “clarifications” on the continued support for farmers’ income in the next budget of the Common Agricultural Policy.
The deal, which aims to create a free-trade area with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, was at the centre of heated discussions at December’s EU summit.
Its supporters – lead by Germany and Spain – have been pushing for a quick endorsement in order to access new markets at a time of geoeconomic tensions, while Italy and France succeeded in postponing a crucial vote in order to protect their farmers, who fear they will be unable to compete with imports coming from Latin America.
Depending on the outcome of this week’s talks, the EU farm ministers’ meeting could open the door to a vote on the Mercosur agreement on Friday. To be implemented, the deal needs the backing of a qualified majority of EU member states.
Decision day looms again
Among the items on Wednesday’s agenda will be limits on pesticides that can be contained in products imported into the EU, with France demanding that the deal include reciprocity in production standards.
France has been facing an agricultural crisis for several weeks, with farmers protesting against both the Mercosur agreement and the government’s handling of lumpy skin disease, a contagious virus affecting cattle.
In a letter sent on Sunday, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called on the EU to tighten border controls on products that do not respect EU sanitary and phytosanitary standards.
The French government also announced it would issue an order to suspend imports from Latin America containing residues of pesticides banned in the EU.
That measure, however, would require clearance from the European Commission. Pressure from Paris has already led the Commission to propose a safeguard to strengthen the monitoring of the European market to avoid unexpected disruptions.
That legislation was the subject of a deal between the European Parliament and the EU Council, and is expected to be endorsed by the 27 member states on Friday during a meeting of EU ambassadors.
EU delays Mercosur trade deal until January amid farmer protests and opposition from France and Italy.
The European Union has delayed a massive free-trade deal with South American countries amid protests by EU farmers and as last-minute opposition by France and Italy threatened to derail the agreement.
European Commission chief spokesperson Paula Pinho confirmed on Thursday that the signing of the trade pact between the EU and South American bloc Mercosur will be postponed until January, further delaying a deal that had taken some 25 years to negotiate.
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Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was expected to travel to Brazil on Saturday to sign the deal, but needed the backing of a broad majority of EU members to do so.
The Associated Press news agency reported that an agreement to delay was reached between von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni – who spoke at an EU summit on Thursday – on the condition that Italy would vote in favour of the agreement in January.
French President Emmanuel Macron had also pushed back against the deal as he arrived for Thursday’s summit in Brussels, calling for further concessions and more discussions in January.
Macron said he has been in discussions with Italian, Polish, Belgian, Austrian and Irish colleagues, among others, about delaying the signing.
“Farmers already face an enormous amount of challenges,″ the French leader said.
The trade pact with Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay would be the EU’s largest in terms of tariff cuts.
But critics of the deal, notably France and Italy, fear an influx of cheap commodities that could hurt European farmers, while Germany, Spain and Nordic countries say it will boost exports hit by United States tariffs and reduce reliance on China by securing access to key minerals.
Brazil’s President Lula says Italy’s PM Meloni asked for ‘patience’
The EU-Mercosur agreement would create the world’s biggest free-trade area and help the 27-nation European bloc to export more vehicles, machinery, wines and spirits to Latin America at a time of global trade tensions.
Al Jazeera’s Dominic Kane, reporting from Berlin, said Germany, Spain and the Nordic countries were “all lobbying hard in favour of this deal”. But ranged against them were the French and Italian governments because of concerns in their powerful farming sectors.
“Their worry being that their products, such as poultry and beef, could be undercut by far cheaper imports from the Mercosur countries,” Kane said.
“So no signing in December. The suggestion being maybe there will be a signing in mid-January,” he added.
“But there must now be a question about what might happen between now and mid-January, given the powerful forces ranged against each other in this debate,” he added.
Farmers wear gas masks at the Place du Luxembourg near the European Parliament, during a farmers’ protest on December 18, 2025 [Nicolas Tucat/AFP]
Mercosur nations were notified of the move, a European Commission spokeswoman said, and while initially reacting with a now-or-never ultimatum to its EU partners, Brazil opened the door on Thursday to delaying the deal’s signature to allow time to win over the holdouts.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Italy’s Meloni had asked him for “patience” and had indicated that Italy would eventually be ready for the agreement.
The decision to delay also came hours after farmers in tractors blocked roads and set off fireworks in Brussels to protest the deal, prompting police to respond with tear gas and water cannon.
Protesting farmers – some travelling to the Belgian capital from as far away as Spain and Poland – brought potatoes and eggs to throw and waged a furious back-and-forth with police while demonstrators burned tyres and a faux wooden coffin bearing the word “agriculture”.
The European Parliament evacuated some staff due to damage caused by protesters.
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.”
Thousands protest as EU leaders clash over trade pact farmers fear will flood Europe with cheaper South American goods.
Published On 18 Dec 202518 Dec 2025
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Hundreds of tractors have clogged the streets of Brussels as farmers converged on the Belgian capital to protest against the contentious trade agreement between the European Union and South American nations they say will destroy their livelihoods.
The demonstrations erupted on Thursday as EU leaders gathered for a summit where the fate of the Mercosur deal hung in the balance. More than 150 tractors blocked central Brussels, with an estimated 10,000 protesters expected in the European quarter, according to farm lobby Copa-Cogeca.
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It made for a twin-tracked day of febrile tension outside and inside at the EU summit as leaders were perhaps more focused on a vote to determine whether they are able to use nearly $200bn in frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine over the next two years.
Outside the gilded halls on the streets, farmers hurled potatoes and eggs at police, set off fireworks and firecrackers, and brought traffic to a standstill.
Authorities responded with tear gas and water cannon, setting up roadblocks and closing tunnels around the city. One tractor displayed a sign reading: “Why import sugar from the other side of the world when we produce the best right here?”
“We’re here to say no to Mercosur,” Belgian dairy farmer Maxime Mabille said, accusing European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen of trying to “force the deal through” like “Europe has become a dictatorship”.
A protester throws an object, as farmers protest against the EU-Mercosur free-trade deal in Brussels, Belgium [Yves Herman/Reuters]
Protesters fear an influx of cheaper agricultural products from Brazil and neighbouring countries would undercut European producers. Their concerns centre on beef, sugar, rice, honey and soya beans from South American competitors facing less stringent regulations, particularly on pesticides banned in the EU.
“We’ve been protesting since 2024 in France, in Belgium and elsewhere,” said Florian Poncelet of Belgian farm union FJA. “We’d like to be finally listened to.”
France and Italy now lead opposition to the deal, with President Emmanuel Macron declaring that “we are not ready” and the agreement “cannot be signed” in its current form.
France has coordinated with Poland, Belgium, Austria and Ireland to force a postponement, giving critics sufficient votes within the European Council to potentially block the pact.
However, Germany and Spain are pushing hard for approval. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned that decisions “must be made now” if the EU wants to “remain credible in global trade policy”, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez argued the deal would give Europe “geo-economic and geopolitical weight” against adversaries.
The agreement, 25 years in the making, would create the world’s largest free-trade area covering 780 million people and a quarter of global gross domestic product (GDP).
Supporters say it offers a counterweight to China and would boost European exports of vehicles, machinery and wines amid rising US tariffs.
Despite provisional safeguards negotiated on Wednesday to cap sensitive imports, opposition has intensified. Von der Leyen remains determined to travel to Brazil this weekend to sign the deal, but needs backing from at least two-thirds of EU nations.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva issued an ultimatum on Wednesday, warning that Saturday represents a “now or never” moment, adding that “Brazil won’t make any more agreements while I’m president” if the deal fails.
Austrian MEP Thomas Waitz (The Greens) told Euronews that the European Commission should rethink its budget plans in order to shield EU farmers from the impact of the Mercosur agreement, which could be adopted this week.
Under the Commission’s proposal for the 2028–2034 budget, funding for the Common Agricultural Policy would fall by 20%. Critics of the Mercosur deal argue it would expose EU farmers to unfair competition, as imports from South American countries could be more competitive on the European market.
“You cannot cut the funds by 20% literally and by 40% if you include inflation and sacrifice the farmers just for the profit of a few national companies or European industry,” Waitz told Euronews.
He said large agribusinesses stand to gain from the agreement, while small and medium-sized farmers would bear the costs.
EU farmers protest deal
The coming days are decisive for the trade pact, concluded in 2024 between the European Commission and Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay – to establish a transatlantic free trade zone.
The European Parliament remains sharply divided over the deal. Tuesday will see lawmakers vote on a Commission-backed safeguard clause to monitor potential market disruptions from Mercosur imports, while EU member states are also expected to take a position at the Council in the coming days.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hopes to travel to Latin America on Saturday to sign the agreement in Foz do Iguaçu, on the Argentina–Paraguay border,Euronews has learned.
EU farmers are set to protest on Thursday as national leaders gather for a European summit.
If no agreement is reached beforehand, the issue will be pushed to the top of the summit agenda, with tense negotiations expected.
Ireland and the Netherlands, previously critical of the deal, have yet to clarify their positions. Italian farmers are also voicing opposition, putting pressure on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to declare her stance.
“If we lose them, we lose the rural areas and the ability to supply our population independently with food,” Waitz added.
Italy’s silence on the Mercosur trade pact is deafening – and potentially decisive. Rome could become the kingmaker between supporters of the deal and countries seeking to block it.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans to fly to Brazil on December 20 to sign off the agreement. France, facing farmer anger over fears of unfair competition from Latin America, opposes the deal and wants to postpone the EU member states vote scheduled this week to allow the signature.
The trade pact with Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay – aims to create a free-trade area for 700 million people across the Atlantic. Its adoption requires a qualified majority of EU member states. A blocking minority of four countries representing 35% of the EU population could derail ratification.
By the numbers, Italy’s stance is pivotal. France, Hungary, Poland and Austria oppose the deal. Ireland and the Netherlands, despite past opposition, have not officially declared their position. Belgium will abstain.
That leaves Italy in the spotlight. A diplomat told Euronews the country is feeling expose but that may not be a bad position to be in if it plays its cards rights to get concessions.
Coldiretti remains firmly opposed to the agreement
Rome’s agriculture minister had previously demanded guarantees for farmers.
Since then, the Commission has proposed a safeguard to monitor potential EU market disruptions from Mercosur imports. The measure, backed by member states, will be voted on Tuesday by EU lawmakers at plenary session in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Italy’s largest farmers’ association, Coldiretti, remains firmly opposed.
“It’s going to take too long to activate this safeguard clause if the EU market is hit by a surge of Mercosur’s imports,” a Coldiretti representative told Euronews.
On the other side, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni faces a delicate balancing act between farmers and Confindustria, the industry lobby, while Italy remains the EU’s second-largest exporter to Mercosur countries.
This was also made clear by Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida a few days ago in Brussels. “Many industrial sectors and parts of the agricultural sector, such as the wine and cheese producers, would have a clear and tangible benefit [from the deal]. Others could be penalized,”he said.
This is why Italy has not taken a clear stance up to now. “Since 2024, we tried to protect everybody”, Lollobrigida argued, while remaining ambiguous on the country’s position.
Supporters of the deal are wooing Meloni, seeing her as the path to get the agreement done and open new markets amid global trade obstacles, including nationalist policies in the US and China.
“As long as the Commission president is preparing to go to Brazil to the Mercosur summit, we need to do what’s necessary for that to happen,” an EU senior diplomat from a pro-deal country said.
Yet uncertainty lingers. No one wants to schedule a vote that might fail, and Italy’s prolonged silence is rattling backers, sources told Euronews.
One diplomat familiar with the matter speaking to Euronews conceded “it’s hard, looks difficult”.
