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A qualified majority of member states backed the Mercosur agreement on Friday, ending more than two decades of difficult negotiations between the European Commission and a group of Latin American countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – as well as years of internal EU division.
France, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Ireland voted against, while Belgium abstained, according to diplomats familiar with the matter who spoke to Euronews.
The decision is a blow to French efforts to rally a blocking minority.
The backing came after member states adopted a safeguard allowing tighter monitoring of the EU market to prevent serious disruptions from Mercosur imports.
The agreement, clinched by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in December 2024, would create a free-trade area of more than 700 million people. European companies would gain access to a market of 280 million consumers in Latin America, where some 30,000 EU firms already operate.
Supportive states, led by Germany and Spain, have long argued the agreement will open access to new markets; the deal’s opponents, led by France, warned it would expose EU farmers to unfair competition from Latin American agricultural imports.
The vote now needs to be formalised in a written document expected before 5 p.m. on Friday. While changes remain possible, the likelihood is minimal, as the vote signals the deal will be signed and what remains is largely a formality.
Famers fight back
Opposition to the deal from EU farmers has been fierce. While duties will gradually be eliminated for most products once the agreement enters into force, quotas would remain in place to protect competition-sensitive agricultural products such as beef, poultry and sugar.
Several member states have resisted the deal for years. In 2019, a draft text was blocked by several governments, with France leading opposition over environmental and agricultural concerns.
In recent months, the Commission has added concessions aimed at mollifying farmers and securing the crucial support of Italy, including early access to €45 billion in Common Agricultural Policy funds from 2028 and a freeze of the EU’s carbon border tax on fertilisers.
To address environmental concerns, negotiators also made compliance with the 2016 Paris climate agreement an “essential element” of the deal, allowing for partial or full suspension if commitments are breached.
Nonetheless, on Thursday night, President Emmanuel Macron announced on X France would vote “No” to the agreement.
Friday’s vote opens the way for the EU to sign the agreement, with von der Leyen expected to travel to Latin America soon. The EU conclusion procedure, however, also requires the consent of the European Parliament.
Late on Thursday, the French delegation of Renew said the Cyprus EU presidency had used a legal manoeuvre to enable the provisional implementation of the agreement without a parliamentary vote.
French opponents are now pinning their hopes on blocking the deal in Parliament.