US EditionEU countries approve Mercosur trade deal after 25 years of talks
- On Friday, EU ambassadors indicated their governments' positions, with a qualified majority backing the Mercosur agreement and clearing the way for signing after more than 25 years of talks.
- Supporters say the pact would remove 4 billion euros of duties on EU exports and aims to expand evenly split goods trade worth 111 billion euros while giving European companies access to 280 million Latin American consumers.
- To win sceptics, the European Commission introduced import control measures including pesticide residue checks, a crisis fund, tighter market monitoring, and quotas to protect sensitive products: beef, poultry and sugar.
- Opponents warned the deal would increase cheap food imports as France, Poland, Austria, Hungary and Ireland voted against while Belgium abstained, and French farmers protested with tractors near the Eiffel Tower on January 8, 2026.
- The EU conclusion procedure requires European Parliament consent, Bernd Lange expressed confidence the deal will pass, and diplomats say Friday's vote makes signing likely with Ursula von der Leyen expected to travel soon.
251 Articles
251 Articles
After 25 years of negotiations, the EU countries approved an agreement with Mercosur, which is the largest free trade area in the world.
Italy backs historic EU-Mercosur trade deal after 25 years of negotiations
Italy has provided crucial support to plans by the European Union to seal a huge free trade deal with five South American nations. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was long seen as the key vote in the campaign by European…
This time, it is the right one. Several times rejected, the adoption of Mercosur was endorsed by the Member States of the European Union (EU) on Friday 9 January in Brussels, despite the vote against Hungary, Poland, Ireland, Austria and France. With Italy's turnaround, it was insufficient to stop the Treaty — in negotiations since 1999 — because of the 'splitting' carried out in the last straight line by the European Commission.
The trade agreement with the Mercosur states is to be signed in Paraguay next week after the approval by the EU states. According to information from Brussels, EU Commission President from the Leyen and President of the Council Costa will travel to Ansunción. Whether the agreement will enter into force immediately is still unclear.
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