EU countries approve agreement with Mercosur by qualified majority

A qualified majority of European Union countries approved this Friday (9), in Brussels, the free trade agreement with Mercosur, ending 25 years of negotiations and paving the way for the signing of the treaty by the European Commission next week.

The decision authorizes the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to sign the treaty next week, during a visit to Paraguay, the country that holds the rotating presidency of Mercosur in 2026.

Before that, the endorsement still needs to be formally confirmed by the governments of the bloc’s 27 member states, which should occur in the next few hours.

The agreement provides for the elimination of import tariffs on 91% of goods traded between the two blocs. According to European Union estimates, European exports to Mercosur could grow by up to 39%, with the potential to generate around 440,000 jobs on the continent.

Negotiated since 1999, the treaty remained paralyzed for long periods and gained new momentum at the end of 2024, with coordination between the Brazilian government, led by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and European countries with a strong export agenda, such as Germany and Spain.

The approval occurs in a context of growing tension in international trade, marked by the tariff war initiated by the government of Donald Trump, in the United States, and the weakening of multilateralism.

In recent months, the agreement has been treated by Brussels as an instrument for the geopolitical repositioning of the European Union.