The European Commission plans to sign the Mercosur trade agreement on 12 January in Paraguay, two diplomats and one MEP told Euractiv.
EU leaders refused to give Commission President Ursula von der Leyen the mandate to sign the deal in Brazil as planned on Saturday, after France and Italy derailed a European summit by pushing for delays and extra safety nets for farmers.
The agreement has been negotiated since 1999 and was meant to be finalised at this week’s Mercosur summit in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil. The postponement capped a frantic week in which the Commission and countries supportive of the trade deal, such as Germany, made frantic strides to appease farmers by pushing through extra safeguard measures.
Instead, the plan is now to sign the deal in Paraguay on 12 January, as first reported by Euractiv’s flagship newsletter Rapporteur.
“We have achieved a breakthrough to pave the way for a successful completion of the Mercosur agreement in January,” von der Leyen told reporters early Friday morning, adding that a “few extra weeks” are needed to resolve outstanding issues with EU member states.
The Commission president said she had agreed to the delay with Mercosur, whose leaders were warning it was now or never.
The French President was more cautious, saying early on Friday he did not know whether the delay would be enough to meet France’s demands.
At the same press conference, European Council President António Costa played down the significance of the delay.
“I think the world doesn’t lose a lot with these three weeks after 26 years,” he said.
A European diplomat said the Commission wants the signing to take place before MEPs return to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 19 January, to avoid a renewed push by lawmakers to challenge the deal at the European Court of Justice.
A vote by EU ambassadors on the safeguards linked to the trade deal – following the agreement reached between MEPs and the Council – that was initially scheduled for Friday afternoon has been postponed to Monday, according to a new agenda.
Alice Bergoënd and Kjeld Neubert contributed reporting.
UPDATE: This story has been updated at 15:13 on 19 December to include the timing of EU ambassador votes.
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