The EU aims for January 12 for the signing of the agreement with Mercosur in Paraguay.

The European Union is aiming for January 12 as the date to celebrate in Paraguay the signing of the trade agreement with Mercosur that was postponed this Thursday due to last-minute doubts from Italy and the rejection from France, an option that still needs to be confirmed by the four countries of the Latin American bloc, European sources told EFE. Brussels had hoped to sign the agreement with its Mercosur partners this Saturday in Brazil, but before that, it was necessary for the European Union countries to validate the agreement this Friday by qualified majority (fifteen countries representing 65% of the population) and on the eve it was found that the support did not reach the necessary minimum. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, explained early last morning that the European partners need "a few more weeks," so they had contacted their Mercosur counterparts to agree to "slightly postpone the signing." "Not much is lost with these three weeks after ...