The EU trade agreement with the Mercosur countries will not be signed in December. According to the leaders at the Brussels summit, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the decision was postponed until at least January, which besides means that her planned visit to Brazil has been abandoned.
The agreement was to be finalised at the Saturday Mercosur Summit, but political force in Europe – reinforced by protests by farmers in Brussels – prompted the EC to suspend signature. Farmers from across the EU are afraid about the losses associated with preferential duties on agricultural products from Mercosur.
Meanwhile, supporters of the agreement, including Germany and the Danish Presidency, inform against the failure of historical opportunity. Brazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced that if the agreement is not closed soon, Brazil may retreat from negotiations and from 2026 the steering wheel in Mercosura will take over little pro-European Paraguay.
