Overview
- EU agriculture ministers meet Wednesday in Brussels to hear farm concerns ahead of a possible Friday vote to authorize a Jan. 12 signing in Paraguay.
- Italy’s shift toward backing deprives France, Poland and Hungary of a blocking minority, while Germany and Spain support the pact.
- Ursula von der Leyen has offered an early €45 billion Common Agricultural Policy payment from 2028 to calm tensions in the sector.
- France has issued a decree to halt some South American imports treated with pesticides banned in the EU pending Commission scrutiny within ten days, and Brussels is considering revising import residue rules.
- The Commission highlights limited duty‑free quotas and safeguard tools that allow tariffs to be restored if markets destabilize, and any agreement would still require a close European Parliament ratification vote.