"We believe it is still too early to sign the agreement in the next few days," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in the Italian parliament, according to the Ansa news agency.
We must wait for the package of additional measures to protect the agricultural sector to be finalized and at the same time explain and discuss it with our farmers, explains Meloni.
This makes it difficult for countries that want to give quick approval to get it through in time to allow EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to travel to Brazil for a signing as early as Saturday.
However, Meloni emphasizes that she does not intend to block or stop the agreement altogether.
I am convinced that at the beginning of next year we will be able to meet all the conditions, she says in parliament.
The agreement between the EU and Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia has been negotiated back and forth for over 20 years. It has strong support among countries such as Sweden and in industry circles, while major agricultural and environmental organizations are deeply skeptical.
On Thursday, tens of thousands of European farmers are expected to go to Brussels to protest against, among other things, the Mercosur agreement.
