Overview
- The European Commission offered lower tariffs on certain fertilisers, a legal route to suspend the agricultural CO2 border levy, and accelerated access to €45 billion in farm funds to win support.
- Farmers staged coordinated actions in several countries, including tractor blockades on routes into Paris that caused about 150 kilometers of jams and nighttime closures at French–Belgian motorway crossings.
- France, Ireland, Poland and Hungary say they will vote against, but diplomats say Italy’s shift toward backing the pact could still deliver the qualified majority needed in the Council.
- Ministers are bargaining over safeguard clauses, with the current import‑surge trigger at 8% and Italy pressing to lower it to 5% to protect EU producers.
- A Council decision is slated for Friday, a signing in Paraguay could follow as early as Monday if approved, and the agreement would then still require European Parliament ratification to take effect.