We will have to wait even longer, already for 2026. The European Union has once again put the brake on the free trade agreement with Mercosur—and controversial— of recent decades.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, informed the heads of state and government meeting in Brussels this Thursday that the signing of the agreement will not take place this Saturday, as planned, and that is postponed at least until January.
The announcement came during the European Council working dinner, dedicated to geoeconomics and EU competitiveness, as confirmed. Although the agreement with Mercosur was not officially on the summit agenda, Pressure from France and Italy to delay its signing forced the matter to be introduced into the political discussion at the highest level..
What is the EU-Mercosur agreement and why is it still blocked?
The trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur—a bloc formed by Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay— It was politically closed in 2019, after more than 20 years of negotiations. Since then it has not been formally ratified or signed due to internal resistance in several Member States.
The treaty seeks create one of the largest free trade zones in the world, affecting more than 700 million peopleeliminating tariffs and facilitating access for European companies to key Latin American markets, especially in sectors such as automobiles, industry, services and public procurement.
In exchange, The EU would open its agricultural market to Mercosur productssuch as beef, chicken, sugar or soy, a point that has generated strong opposition in countries with very sensitive agricultural sectors, especially France.
France and Italy have put on the brakes
The postponement announced by Von der Leyen responds, according to diplomatic sources, to the explicit opposition from Francewhich considers that the agreement does not offer sufficient environmental guarantees or adequately protect European farmers. President Emmanuel Macron has been calling for stricter clauses on deforestation, sustainability and fair competition for years.
Italy, for its part, has recently joined the reluctancein a context of agrarian protests in several European countries and growing internal political pressure. Both governments have asked for more time to renegotiate key aspects or, at least, to reduce the political cost of the signature.
What has changed since 2019
Since the initial closing of the agreement, the context has changed significantly. The EU has toughened its green agenda with the European Green Dealhas approved new rules on imported deforestation and has placed strategic autonomy at the center of its economic policy after the pandemic.
To try to unblock the agreement, the European Commission presented an additional annex in 2023 with stricter environmental commitments. However, this addition has not convinced all Member States, nor has it managed to allay farmers’ fears of competition considered unfair.
Why January
The postponement to January does not imply a definitive break, but it does confirm that there is not sufficient political consensus at this time. The Commission needs the agreement to reach signature with minimal support among Member States to avoid a failure that would have a high political and diplomatic cost.
Furthermore, the European calendar further complicates the scenario: 2025 will be a key year, with the renewal of the Commission, trade tensions with the United States and China, and growing internal fragmentation in the EU.
What do Spain and other EU countries think?
Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary and Ireland also share doubts with the agreement for the impact on the countryside and compliance with climate commitments in the Amazon, while Germany, Spain and the Nordic countries are pressing to close the agreement due to its geopolitical importance compared to China and the United States.
European diplomats admit that, if the pact is not closed in this final stretch of 2025-early 2026, the agreement may remain “frozen for many years”, despite 25 years of negotiation and the principle of political agreement reached in 2019 and updated in 2024.
