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Italy signaled on Wednesday that it might not support a massive transatlantic free trade deal between the European Union and South American countries, casting further doubt on the agreement as European leaders gather for a summit in Brussels and farmers enraged by the trade pact descend on the capital.
Premier Giorgia Meloni told Italian parliament on Wednesday that signing the deal between the EU and the five active Mercosur countries — Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia — would depend on key changes to the accord.
Meloni said that signing the agreement in the coming days “would be premature.’’ She called for a package of measures to protect Italian farmers before she can approve the deal.
“This doesn’t mean that Italy intends to block or oppose (the deal), but that it intends to approve the agreement only when it includes adequate reciprocal guarantees for our agricultural sector.’’
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is determined to sign the agreement, but needs the backing of at least two-thirds of EU nations. Italy’s opposition increases the possibility of France finding enough allies to veto her signature.
Worried by a surging far right that rallies support by criticizing the deal, the French have demanded safeguards to monitor and stop large economic disruption in the EU, increased regulations in the Mercosur nations like pesticide restrictions, and more inspections of imports at EU ports.
Despite the looming delay, which analysts say could lead to a sinking of the pact, von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa are still scheduled to sign the deal in Brazil on Saturday.
The trade deal has been under negotiation for 25 years. If ratified, it would cover a market of 780 million people and a quarter of the globe’s gross domestic product.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told lawmakers in Berlin that he was still advocating for von der Leyen and Costa to sign the deal.
“The European Union’s ability to act can also be measured by whether, after 26 years of negotiations, we are finally in a position to bring this trade agreement to a conclusion, and so also get the negotiated trade agreements with Mexico and Indonesia on the road quickly,” he said.
He said that those “moaning about details of big trade agreements that we as Europeans want to conclude with major economic areas in the world … still haven’t really understood the priorities we must now set.”
The summit in Brussels will largely focus on financing Ukraine in its war against Russia’s invasion, but the EU-Mercosur deal is a priority for some of the 27 EU leaders.
Farmers from Greece to Poland have said they will descend on Brussels, some on tractors, to protest the deal, which they fear will undercut their livelihoods.
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Associated Press writers Colleen Barry in Rome and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
