Daily Times

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Thursday her participation at a summit of South America’s Mercosur bloc, saying a controversial free-trade deal between the EU and the group was within reach. “Touchdown in Latin America,” she wrote on social media platform X before the meeting in Montevideo. “The finish line of the EU-Mercosur agreement is in sight. Let’s work, let’s cross it,” she added. Despite strong opposition from France, which criticises the deal’s impact on the environment and European farmers, the commission wants to conclude talks started more than 20 years ago with the grouping of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The draft treaty, under discussion since 1999, aims to eliminate the majority of customs duties between the EU and Mercosur to create a vast market of more than 700 million consumers. It would be “the largest trade and investment partnership the world has ever seen”, von der Leyen wrote en route to Sao Paolo before heading on to the Uruguayan capital.