Italy backs EU plan to seal Mercosur trade deal after 25 years

Italy on Friday moved to support plans by the European Union to seal a major free trade agreement with five South American nations that make up Mercosur—Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay—after more than 25 years of negotiations, according to Associated Press reporting.

The signal of support came as a political test for the European Commission leadership. Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was widely viewed as a key vote for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s push to rally support for the pact, which aims to move toward implementation following a European Parliament vote.

Von der Leyen said the outcome sent “a strong signal” of the EU’s economic clout and stability “in the face of an increasingly hostile and transactional world,” adding that she would travel to Paraguay soon because Mercosur nations are meeting there next week. The European Parliament is expected to vote on the deal before it enters into force, with the agreement positioned as a diplomatic win for Brussels amid economic disruption.

Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the agreement would be “good news for Italy,” and he wrote on X that the deal was “destined to boost our exports,” with a stated goal of reaching 700 billion euros ($814 billion) in exports. Meloni also said she had “never had ‘any ideological objections’” to the Mercosur agreement, while emphasizing conditions tied to agriculture.

Speaking at a press conference, Meloni said Italy would be in favor of the deal when “there are sufficient guarantees for our farmers,” arguing that the agreement’s potential should not come “at the expense of the excellence of our products.” Her remarks framed Italy’s support as conditional on protections for European producers rather than a blanket endorsement of the bloc’s trade ambitions.

The EU-Mercosur deal would create one of the world’s largest free trade zones, covering about 780 million people and accounting for roughly a quarter of the global gross domestic product, according to the reporting. Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz described it in a statement as a milestone for European trade policy and an “important signal” of strategic sovereignty, saying the agreement would strengthen Germany’s economy and trade relations with partners in South America.

Support for the deal also intersected with the EU’s broader effort to reduce dependence amid concerns about tariffs and shifting trade relationships. After December’s delay in signing the agreement, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva celebrated the progress, describing it as “a historic day for multilateralism” and saying the EU-Mercosur deal was a favorable sign for international trade amid protectionism and unilateralism.

Opposition to the deal has been led by France and Poland, with farmers in parts of Europe protesting, including by flooding streets and blocking roads with tractors, the AP report said. Austria, Hungary and Ireland also voted against it. Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin said in Shanghai during a state visit to China that “we don’t have confidence that (Irish farmers) wouldn’t be undercut by that,” according to Irish public broadcaster RTE.

France and other EU leaders acknowledged that internal negotiations sparked by farmer and political concerns helped shape reforms, but they also pointed to the continuing weight of domestic pressures. The report said French President Emmanuel Macron and Martin argued that reforms had been made to protect farmers, while Macron posted on X that three key French demands were being met, including safeguards tied to an “emergency brake” on imports if they are found to undercut EU prices by 5% or more, the mirroring of EU food safety regulations, and increased inspections of agrifood imports at EU ports.

Even with Italy’s support, critics inside and outside governments have continued to warn about agricultural, environmental and climate risks associated with the agreement. The AP report said green members of the European Parliament had vowed to take the Commission to court, and it cited criticism from Frances Verkamp, a trade campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe, who described the deal as “toxic,” arguing it would advance a form of global dominance in trade without benefits for workers, consumers, nature or climate.

The European Parliament’s vote remains the next formal step for the agreement, while Italy’s backing suggests the bloc has cleared at least one major hurdle for completing the long-delayed EU-Mercosur negotiations.