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Ursula von der Leyen He already had his suitcase packed, but in the end he will not be able to travel as planned this Saturday, December 20, to Brasilia to sign the free trade agreement between the European Union y Mercosurwhich has taken 25 years to negotiate.
Despite being in the minority, the French Emmanuel Macron managed this Thursday to force a new delay in the signing thanks to an alliance of convenience with the Italian Giorgia Meloni. It is thus imposed on Pedro Sanchez and to German Friedrich Merz, the main promoters of the pact with Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
This new postponement could mean the final blow that bury the agreement with Mercosur. Although Meloni has promised the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvawhich is willing to sign it shortly if it obtains additional guarantees, the French are not in such a hurry.
“We don’t know if it can be resolved in a month or 10 years,” diplomatic sources say.
Over the weekend, the French Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornuhas already asked to postpone the signing to 2026. Emmanuel Macron It has always opposed the pact with Mercosur to protect its meat industry, but to achieve a blocking minority it needs the support of Meloni, who had maintained a calculated ambiguity.
In the last days and hours, Macron has worked hard to attract Meloniand at the same time keep on its side the rest of the member states that oppose the pact with Mercosur: Poland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Ireland, explain the sources consulted.
Both Macron and Meloni have spoken with Lula da Silva, who holds the interim presidency of Mercosur until January 15, to inform him that there will be no signature.
“The Italian Government is willing to sign the agreement as soon as the necessary answers are offered to farmers, which depend on the decisions of the European Commission and can be defined within short periods of time,” Meloni explained in a statement.