This is the latest attempt by Brussels to win the support of member states for the long-delayed deal. It has been under negotiation for more than 25 years. The EU-Mercosur agreement requires a qualified majority of member states to vote in favor in order to enter into force.
The developments come amid farm protests. French farmers entered Paris on Thursday. The action was organized by the Coordination Rurale trade union, which says the deal will put French farmers in unfair competition with cheaper imports from South America.
Protesters fear that produce from Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will be produced at lower environmental and social standards, adding to pressure on local farmers’ incomes. Farmers’ organizations are calling on France to block it.
Support for the deal with Mercosur and Italy is not guaranteed, even after the European Commission proposed increased financial support for farmers. Rome has demanded the abolition of the EU carbon tax.
Italy on January 7 wrote to EU Agriculture Commissioner ChristophHansen calling for the abolition of a border tax on carbon dioxide emissions to reduce pressure on fertilizer prices for European farmers.
According to Euronews, hopes that Rome will approve the trade deal have risen in Brussels after Ursula von der Leyen pledged on Tuesday to provide €45 billion in additional funding for farmers in 2028 to sway the Italian government in favor of the MECOSUR agreement.
Italy’s request came as the European Commission convened EU agriculture ministers in Brussels on Wednesday for talks on future funding for the Common Agricultural Policy. Among the sensitive issues is setting production standards between Latin America and Europe. This is a key demand of France, which remains opposed to the Mercosur deal.
Italian farmers, along with French, Polish and Irish farmers, fear that the deal with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay will turn into unfair competition for EU farmers.
The Mercosur agreement would create a free trade area between Latin American countries and the EU, lowering tariffs for European companies in all sectors of the economy and opening access to Latin American markets.
If realized, the deal will create one of the world’s largest free trade zones, with more than 780 million consumers.
