Overview
- After the 23 October summit, Kaja Kallas and Germany’s Friedrich Merz said EU leaders authorized ambassadors to sign, a claim European Council president Antonio Costa publicly rejected.
- The European Commission has validated the agreement and sent it to the Council and Parliament, pairing it with a separate legal act to operationalize reinforced safeguard clauses and market monitoring.
- Macron, who called the pact a “bad text” in February, now says he is awaiting finalization and notification of the protections, describing them as moving in the right direction.
- Forty-four organizations including Confédération paysanne, the CGT, Greenpeace and FNE urged Macron to clarify France’s stance and assemble a blocking minority, warning against expedited ratification without national parliamentary scrutiny of the trade chapter.
- Merz cited 19 December as a potential signing date if member states agree, while Austria signaled it would vote no under current conditions and French farm unions continue to oppose the deal.