EU-Mercosur: Europe delays the signing, Brazil demands definitions and the agricultural sector continues to wait

The postponement of the signing of the trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur, officially announced on December 19, 2025, was far from closing the chapter. On the contrary, it opened a series of political statements that exposed the internal tensions of the European bloc and the growing impatience of Mercosur, especially of the countries with a strong agro-export profile. On that same day, the European Commission and the European Council sent a joint institutional letter to the president of Brazil and Mercosur, Lula da Silva, in which they admitted that “unfortunately it will not be possible to proceed with the signing of the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement on December 20,” but reaffirmed their commitment to the process. In the document, the European authorities assured that they are “actively working to complete the necessary steps without delays” and expressed their intention to move forward with the signing “at the beginning of January.” The official ...