EU expects early signing of free trade agreement with MERCOSUR
(VOVWORLD) - The European Commission (EC) announced Monday that the European Union is moving closer to signing a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), which would create the world’s largest free trade area.
 (Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq) |
An EC spokesperson said the bloc is on the right track toward finalizing the deal and hopes it will be signed in the near future.
At an EU summit in mid-December last year, the bloc’s 27 member states decided to postpone the signing due to the failure to secure the required two-thirds majority under EU rules. Several countries, including France, Austria, and Poland, have continued to express concerns that the agreement could negatively affect domestic agriculture, particularly given competition from South American farm produce.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said Italy will support the agreement in 2026, a move EU officials believe could help secure the necessary two-thirds majority, paving the way for the deal’s signing. Earlier diplomatic sources indicated that the pact could be signed in Paraguay next Monday.