Signing of the Mercosur-European Union Agreement is postponed until January

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that the conclusion of the Mercosur-European Union agreement has been postponed until January. The signing was scheduled to take place during the Mercosul Summit this Saturday (20), in Foz do Iguaçu (PR).

At the bloc’s meeting, this Thursday (18), the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, took a stand against closing the pact without new safeguards for farmers in their countries, who fear competition with South American products.

Von der Leyen tells news agencies the need for “a few extra weeks” to resolve outstanding issues with certain Member States before the pact is formalized.

Read more: Lula and Ursula von der Leyen see progress in the Mercosur-European Union agreement

However, the president said she was confident that the bloc would have the necessary votes to approve the agreement next month. In her assessment, there was progress in the meeting and the path is open for concluding the agreement.

In the meeting with a journalist at Palácio do Planalto, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva commented on the positions of countries opposed to the agreement.

Lula said that the French position has always been very clear. The novelty, according to him, was Italy’s positioning.

“I always knew that France was against it. I talked to Macron many times. I talked to the French opposition many times. I even talked to Brigitte (Brigitte Macron, First Lady of France). I asked her to open Macron’s heart to make the agreement”, he recalls.

Italy

“The news for me was Italy. And I called Prime Minister Meloni today. I told her that the date of December 20th was not a date proposed by us. December 20th was a date proposed by Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa, saying that on the 19th they would vote in Brussels and that they would come here for us to sign the agreement. She considered that she is not against the agreement. She is just experiencing a certain political embarrassment because of of Italian farmers, but she is sure she is capable of convincing them to accept the agreement”, said Lula.

“She then asked that, if we have patience for a week, ten days, a maximum of a month, Italy will be part of the agreement. I told her that I will put what she told me at the Mercosur meeting and I will propose to the companions to decide what they want to do”, adds the president.