Have the article read by OpenAI (Beta). Please note that AI translations may take some time to process.Brussels (dpa) – A majority of European Union countries has given the green light for the signing of the Mercosur free trade deal with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, sources told dpa on Friday.
At a meeting of representatives from the 27 EU countries in Brussels, a sufficient number of participants agreed to the planned signing of the deal, according to diplomats. The new free trade zone, with more than 700 million inhabitants, will be the largest of its kind in the world, according to the European Commission.
The agreement on the controversial deal was made possible by further concessions to the agricultural lobby, which views competition from the four countries, which are members of the wider Mercosur South American trading bloc, as a threat to European farmers. In South America, agricultural products such as beef can be produced more cheaply than in Europe.
The agreement was initially supposed to be signed in Brazil in December. However, the necessary majority of EU member states was not achieved at that time because Italy tied its approval to further support commitments for European farmers.
For the deal to pass it required a so-called qualified majority, meaning at least 15 of the EU’s 27 states representing 65 percent of the bloc’s population must back it. Italy’s approval was necessary because two other populous EU countries, France and Poland, oppose the agreement in its current form. (January 9)
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