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\nA farmer caries a flag of the European Union during the protest against the Mercosur deal<\/p>\n
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen told EU leaders at a summit in Brussels that the signing of a free trade deal with South American bloc Mercosur would be postponed to January, diplomats have said.<\/p>\n
The European Commission wanted to have the pact to create the world’s biggest free-trade area sealed this week, but the plan was thrown into disarray after Italy joined fellow heavyweight France in demanding a delay seeking further protection for the farming sector.<\/p>\n
Protesters lit fires and hurled potatoes at riot police who responded with teargas and water cannons in Brussels, as tensions boiled over at a farmer demonstration against the EU’s planned trade deal.<\/p>\n
About 1,000 tractors rolled into the Belgian capital to put pressure on an EU leaders’ summit where the deal’s fate hung in the balance.<\/p>\n
“We’re here to say no to Mercosur,” Belgian dairy farmer Maxime Mabille told AFP.<\/p>\n
“It’s like Europe has become a dictatorship,” he said, accusing European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen of seeking to “force the deal through”.<\/p>\n
Watch: Police attempt to clear protesters amid tense scenes in Brussels<\/p>\n
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At least 7,000 farmers staged a mostly peaceful march through the capital’s European quarter, where the Mercosur deal loomed large over an EU summit focused on funding Ukraine’s war effort.<\/p>\n
However, tense scenes erupted outside the European Parliament, where farmers lit a bonfire of tires and hay and threw vegetables at the police, who fired back with teargas – with black smoke filling surrounding streets.<\/p>\n
AFP said it witnessed acts of vandalism on the sidelines, who smashed windows at the parliament building.<\/p>\n
\nA farmer caries a flag of the European Union during the protest against the Mercosur deal<\/p>\n
Farmers, particularly in France, worry the Mercosur deal will see them undercut by a flow of cheaper goods from agricultural giant Brazil and its neighbours.<\/p>\n
Plans by the commission chief to fly to Brazil this weekend to sign the agreement were thrown in jeopardy yesterday after Italy joined France in seeking a delay.<\/p>\n
Ms Von der Leyen said she still hoped for an accord, holding what she called a “good and productive” meeting with a European farmers’ delegation to hear their concerns.<\/p>\n
“It is of enormous importance that we get the green light for Mercosur and that we can complete the signatures,” EU chief said.<\/p>\n
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\nPolice fired back at the protesters in Brussels with teargas<\/p>\n
The EU-Mercosur pact would create the world’s biggest free-trade area and help the EU to export more vehicles, machinery, wines and spirits to Latin America at a time of global trade tensions.<\/p>\n
But farmers say it would also facilitate the entry into Europe of beef, sugar, rice, honey and soybeans produced by their less-regulated South American counterparts.<\/p>\n
Paris and Rome have been calling for more robust safeguard clauses, tighter import controls and more stringent standards for Mercosur producers.<\/p>\n
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\nEuropean farmers are also angered at plans put forward by the European Commission to overhaul the 27-nation bloc’s huge farming subsidies<\/p>\n
President Emmanuel Macron warned on arrival in Brussels that France would not support the deal without stronger safeguards for its farmers.<\/p>\n
“I want to tell our farmers, who have been making France’s position clear all along: we consider that we are not there yet, and the deal cannot be signed” as it stands, Macron told reporters.<\/p>\n
He vowed France would oppose any “attempt to force this through”.<\/p>\n
Key power Germany, as well as Spain and the Nordic countries, strongly support the Mercosur pact, eager to boost exports as Europe grapples with Chinese competition and a tariff-happy administration in the White House.<\/p>\n
“If the European Union wants to remain credible in global trade policy, then decisions must be made now,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters in Brussels.<\/p>\n