EU States Give Provisional Green Light to EU‑Mercosur Deal, Setting Up Jan. 12 Signing

Overview

• EU ambassadors secured a qualified majority for the pact, with final written confirmations due by 17:00 in Brussels before a planned signature in Paraguay.
• France declared it will vote against and farmer protests rolled through Paris, while Ireland, Poland and Hungary also opposed and Belgium abstained, according to diplomatic reporting.
• Italy’s late shift proved decisive after the European Commission proposed advancing roughly €45 billion in farm support to the next CAP period.
• To ease concerns, the Commission also proposed zeroing tariffs on urea and ammonia and pursuing temporary exemptions from the EU carbon border mechanism for some imports.
• Even if signed next week by Ursula von der Leyen, the agreement still requires a European Parliament vote and separate national ratifications across Mercosur countries.