EU delays trade deal with South America's Mercosur bloc as farmers protest

"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."

"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."

The EU postponed signing of a free-trade pact with Mercosur until January amid protests by EU farmers and opposition from France and Italy. European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho confirmed the postponement. An agreement to delay was reached between Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the condition that Italy vote in favour in January. Emmanuel Macron sought further concessions and coordinated with several EU colleagues about delaying the signing. Critics fear cheap commodity imports will hurt European farmers, while supporters say the pact will boost exports and secure access to key minerals.

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