Von der Leyen offers billions to farmers in bid to save Mercosur pact

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is determined to travel to South America next week to sign the long-delayed EU trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc.

But at the last minute she has been forced to make promises to European farmers in order to go ahead with the trip at all, CE Report quotes FENA.

EU member states are expected to take a key decision on Friday on whether the agreement with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay — negotiated for more than a quarter of a century — will finally be concluded, Politico reports.

It is still uncertain whether von der Leyen can secure the necessary majority on Friday, and everything hinges on whether Italy, the key “swing” vote, will back the deal.

To win over Rome, von der Leyen on Tuesday offered additional budgetary commitments for agricultural funding. The aim was clear: to persuade Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose refusal to support the Mercosur agreement in December forced von der Leyen to cancel a planned signing trip.

At its core, the Mercosur agreement is an initiative by Europe’s major manufacturers to sell more cars, machinery and chemicals in Latin America, while agricultural powerhouses in the Southern Hemisphere would gain greater access to the European food market — a prospect that alarms European farmers.

Germany and Spain have long led efforts in favor of the agreement, while France and Poland are firmly opposed. This leaves Italy as the pivotal member state that could cast the deciding vote.

In an address to the presidency of the EU Council and to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, von der Leyen offered earlier access to up to €45 billion in agricultural funding under the EU’s next long-term budget, along with confirmation of €293.7 billion for agriculture after 2027.

She insisted that the measures outlined in her letter would provide farmers and rural communities with an unprecedented level of support, in some respects even higher than in the current budget cycle.

Von der Leyen framed the move as an offer of stability and crisis preparedness, giving Meloni a tangible political win she could present to the powerful agricultural lobby. The big question is whether Italy will judge von der Leyen’s promises to go far enough ahead of Friday’s crucial meeting.

Meloni said the pledge on agricultural funding was a positive and significant step forward in negotiations toward the new EU budget, but carefully avoided drawing a direct link to Mercosur.

French President Emmanuel Macron also welcomed von der Leyen’s letter, but there is no sign that Paris will support Mercosur on Friday.

“We are moving in the right direction to enable Italy to sign Mercosur,” said Nicola Procaccini, a close ally of Meloni in the European Parliament.

Additional complications are coming from Romania and the Czech Republic, one EU diplomat said, expressing concern that they could turn against the agreement on Friday.

The diplomat nevertheless said he believes Italy will back the deal. “Maneuvering” will continue on Wednesday, when agriculture ministers arrive in Brussels for what the Commission describes as a political meeting following December’s farmers’ protests.

French allies, particularly Poland, are equally blunt. Agriculture Minister Stefan Krajewski said the priority is simply to block the agreement; if that fails, Warsaw will seek maximum safeguard measures and compensation.

Foto/ Arhiv