The European Union has taken a decisive step toward creating the world’s largest free trade area after member states approved a long-negotiated trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc on Friday.
The endorsement, reached by a qualified majority of EU ambassadors meeting in Brussels, comes more than 25 years after negotiations first began.
Despite opposition from several countries, including France, Poland, Ireland and Hungary, the agreement secured enough support among the EU’s 27 member states to move forward.
The deal must still be ratified by the European Parliament before it can enter into force, leaving its final outcome uncertain.
If fully implemented, the pact between the EU and Mercosur countries—Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay—would create a market encompassing more than 700 million consumers.
According to European Commission estimates, it would eliminate tariffs on over 90 percent of bilateral trade, significantly boosting exports of European vehicles, machinery, wines and cheeses, while opening EU markets further to South American agricultural products.
Italy played a key role in unlocking progress this week after reversing its earlier opposition. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said newly introduced clauses had restored balance to the agreement by protecting sensitive agricultural sectors.
“We have always said that we are in favor of the agreement with Mercosur when there are sufficient guarantees for our farmers,” Meloni said, according to AFP.
With backing now secured at the member-state level, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to travel to Paraguay on Monday to formally sign the agreement with Mercosur leaders. However, officials caution that implementation will not be immediate.
The next and potentially most challenging stage lies in the European Parliament. Nearly 150 of the 720 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have warned they may pursue legal action to block the agreement, citing concerns over environmental standards, food safety and the impact on European farmers.
A vote is expected in the coming weeks amid intense political and social debate.
Opposition is strongest within the agricultural sector, where farmers fear increased competition from South American imports such as beef, rice, honey, soybeans and ethanol.
France has led resistance, arguing that Mercosur producers benefit from lower costs due to less stringent environmental and production standards, potentially destabilizing EU markets.
To address these concerns, the European Commission has introduced a series of safeguard measures. These include limits on tariff-free import quotas, mechanisms for market intervention in case of disruption, and automatic investigations if imported goods undercut EU prices by at least eight percent while volumes surge.
The Commission has also moved to tighten pesticide rules, announcing a ban on three chemicals—thiophanate-methyl, carbendazim and benomyl—and France has temporarily blocked imports of products treated with substances banned in the EU.
Despite these concessions, protests continue. Tractors remain stationed at entrances to Paris, while around 1,000 farmers marched through Warsaw in Poland following the approval.
As the agreement advances, the EU faces the challenge of balancing global trade ambitions with domestic political and agricultural pressures.