Farmers block roads in Brussels to protest South American free-trade
deal
[December 18, 2025] By
SAM McNEIL
BRUSSELS (AP) — Farmers in tractors blocked roads and set off fireworks
in Brussels on Wednesday outside a European Union leaders’ summit,
prompting police to respond with tear gas and water cannons as
protesters rallied against a major free-trade deal with South American
nations.
Farmers fear that the deal will undercut their livelihoods, and there
are broader political concerns that it could also help drive support for
the far right.
Thousands of farmers are also expected at twin rallies planned by
farmers' unions that are set to converge on Place Luxembourg, a stone's
throw from the European Parliament and the Europa Building where leaders
of the 27 EU nations are meeting. They are to discuss amending the trade
pact or delaying its signing.
Also on the agenda of the EU summit is a proposal to seize Russian
assets for use in Ukraine.
Reservations about the deal are growing
On Wednesday, Italy signaled it had reservations too, joining the
French-led opposition to signing the massive transatlantic free-trade
deal between the EU and the five active Mercosur countries — Brazil,
Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia. The deal would progressively
remove duties on almost all goods traded between the two blocs over the
next 15 years.
Worried by a surging far right that rallies support by criticizing the
deal, the French have demanded safeguards to monitor and stop large
economic disruption in the EU, increased regulations in the Mercosur
nations like pesticide restrictions, and more inspections of imports at
EU ports.
Premier Giorgia Meloni told the Italian Parliament on Wednesday that
signing the agreement in the coming days “would be premature."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is determined to sign
the agreement, but she needs the backing of at least two-thirds of EU
nations.
Italy’s opposition would give France enough votes to veto von der
Leyen’s signature.
“This doesn’t mean that Italy intends to block or oppose (the deal), but
that it intends to approve the agreement only when it includes adequate
reciprocal guarantees for our agricultural sector,” Meloni said.
The deal could be a counterweight to China and the US
The accord has been under negotiation for 25 years. Once ratified, it
would cover a market of 780 million people and a quarter of the globe’s
gross domestic product. Supporters say it would offer a clear
alternative to Beijing's export-controls and Washington's tariff
blitzkrieg, while detractors say it will undermine both environmental
regulations and the EU's iconic agricultural sector.
It is also about strategic competition between Western nations and China
over Latin America, said Agathe Demarais, a senior fellow at the
European Council on Foreign Relations. “A failure to sign the EU-Mercosur
free trade agreement risks pushing Latin American economies closer to
Beijing’s orbit,” she said.
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Farmers drive their tractors to block a main boulevard during a
demonstration outside a gathering of European leaders at the EU
Summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Marius
Burgelman)
 Despite the likelihood of a delay,
von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa are still
scheduled to sign the deal in Brazil on Saturday.
“We have to get rid of our over-dependencies, and this is only
possible through a network of free-trade agreements,” said von der
Leyen. “It is of enormous importance that we get the green light for
Mercosur.”
South America's agitation over the delays
The political tensions that have marked Mercosur in recent years —
especially between Argentina’s far-right President Javier Milei and
Brazil’s center-left Lula da Silva, the bloc’s two main partners —
have not altered the willingness of South American leaders to seal
an alliance with Europe that will result in benefits for their
agricultural production.
“We remain optimistic that next Saturday we will have approval from
the European Union and, therefore, that we can proceed with the
signing of the treaty,” said Uruguay’s Minister of Economy and
Finance, Gabriel Oddone.
Lula has been one of the most fervent promoters of the agreement
from South America’s largest economy. As host of the upcoming
summit, the Brazilian president is betting on closing the deal on
Saturday and scoring a major diplomatic achievement ahead of next
year’s general elections, in which he will seek reelection.
At a cabinet meeting Wednesday, Lula was clearly irked by Italy and
France's positions. He said that Saturday would be a make-or-break
moment for the deal.
“If we don't do it now, Brazil won't make any more agreements while
I'm president,” Lula said, adding that the agreement would “defend
multilateralism” as Trump pursues unilateralism.
Milei, a close ideological ally of Trump, also supports the deal.
“We must stop thinking of Mercosur as a shield that protects us from
the world and start thinking of it as a spear that allows us to
effectively penetrate global markets,” he said some time ago.
___
Associated Press writers Debora Rey in Buenos Aires and Mark Carlson
in Brussels contributed to this report.
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