Published on 18/12/2025 – 23:27 GMT+1
•Updated
23:35

Following tense negotiations among the 27 member states, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday pushed the signature of the contentious Mercosur agreement to January to the frustration of backers Germany and Spain.

The trade deal dominated the EU summit, with France and Italy pressing for a delay to secure stronger farmer protections, while von der Leyen had hoped to travel to Latin America for a signing ceremony on 20 December after securing member-state support.

Without approval, the ceremony can no longer go ahead. There is not set date.

“The Commission proposed that it postpones to early January the signature to further discuss with the countries who still need a bit more time,” an EU official told reporters.

After a phone call with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she supported the deal, but added that Rome still needs stronger assurances for Italian farmers. Lula said in separate comments that Meloni assured him the trade deal would be approved in the next 10 days to a month.

The Mercosur agreement would create a free-trade area between the EU and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. But European farmers fear it would expose them to unfair competition from Latin American imports on pricing and practices.

Meloni’s decision was pivotal to delay

“The Italian government is ready to sign the agreement as soon as the necessary answers are provided to farmers. This would depend on the decisions of the European Commission and can be defined within a short timeframe,” Meloni said after speaking with Lula, who had threatened to walk away from the deal unless an agreement was found this month. He sounded more conciliatory after speaking to Meloni.

Talks among EU leaders were fraught, as backers of the deal – concluded in 2024 after 25 years of negotiations – argued the Mercosur is an imperative as the bloc needs new markets at a time in which the US, its biggest trading partner, pursues an aggressive tariff policy. Duties on European exports to the US have tripled under Donald Trump.

“This is one of the most difficult EU summits since the last negotiation of the long-term budget two years ago,” an EU diplomat said.

France began pushing last Sunday for a delay in the vote amid farmers’ anger.

Paris has long opposed the deal, demanding robust safeguards for farmers and reciprocity on environmental and health production standards with Mercosur countries.

The agreement requires a qualified majority for approval. France, Poland and Hungary oppose the signature, while Austria and Belgium planned to abstain if a vote were held this week. Ireland has also raised concerns over farmer protections.

Italy’s stance was pivotal.

However, supporters of the agreement now fear prolonged hesitation could prompt Mercosur countries to walk away after decades of negotiations for good.

After speaking with Meloni, Lula said he would pass Italy’s request on to Mercosur so that it can “decide what to do.”

An EU official said contacts with Mercosur were “ongoing,” adding: “We need to make sure that everything is accepted by them.”

Actors and other performers working in film and TV in the U.K. have voted by a landslide to refuse to be digitally scanned on set in order to secure artificial intelligence protections.

Member of performers union Equity working in film and TV voted in a ballot on AI protections, and decided by a massive majority that they are willing to take industrial action over AI. The ballot asked: “Are you prepared to refuse to be digitally scanned on set to secure adequate AI protections?,” and 99.6% of them responded “Yes.”

Equity commented: “Members are increasingly concerned about the use of their voice and likeness, including being digitally scanned on set. Equity is fighting for protections for performers based on the principles of explicit consent, transparency of terms, and fair remuneration for usage.”

The ballot turnout was 75.1%, with eligible voters made up of Equity’s membership working in film and TV – 7,732 actors, stunt performers and dancers.

The ballot was indicative, which means it is not binding and does not legally cover Equity members to take industrial action – for that, a statutory ballot is needed. However, the result shows the strength of feeling among performers about AI, and indicates they are prepared to refuse to be digitally scanned on set – a form of action short of a strike.

Equity is currently negotiating the agreements it holds with Pact, the trade body representing the majority of film and TV production companies in the U.K., to set minimum standards for pay, terms and conditions for performers working in the sector.

Equity will now write to Pact with the results and demand they come back to the negotiating table with a better deal on AI. If Pact refuses to enshrine the AI protections the union is seeking in the agreements, Equity will hold a statutory ballot for industrial action.

Equity’s general secretary, Paul W. Fleming, said: “Artificial intelligence is a generation-defining challenge. And for the first time in a generation, Equity’s film and TV members have shown that they are willing to take industrial action.

“90% of TV and film is made on these agreements. Over three quarters of artists working on them are union members. This shows that the workforce is willing to significantly disrupt production unless they are respected, and decades of erosion in terms and conditions begins to be reversed.

“The U.S. streamers and Pact need to step away from the brink, and respect this show of strength. We need adequate AI protections which build on, not merely replicate, those agreed after the SAG-AFTRA strike in the U.S.A. over two years ago.

“The union believes this can be resolved through negotiation, but 18 months of talks have led us to this stalemate. With fresh AI proposals, significant movement on royalties, and a package of modern terms and conditions, Pact and allied producers can turn this around. The ball is in their court when we return to the table in January.”

The Vatican on Thursday accepted the resignation of Cardinal Timothy Dolan and announced that Bishop Ronald Hicks of Joliet, Illinois, will become the next archbishop of New York.

This is a breaking news story; check back for updates.