MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula issues ultimatum as Meloni and Macron stall EU-Mercosur FTA

Brazil will no longer move a finger as long as Lula is president if the FTA is not signed by Saturday

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva issued a sharp ultimatum to European leaders on Wednesday, declaring that if the long-awaited EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is not signed this Saturday, he will abandon negotiations for the remainder of his presidency.

The standoff comes as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni joined French President Emmanuel Macron in cooling expectations for a deal, which represented a significant blow to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's goal of finalizing the pact by December 20.

Addressing the Italian Parliament, Meloni labeled the signing “premature,” citing incomplete safeguards for her country's farmers. Italy's shift aligns Rome with Paris, Warsaw, and Budapest, potentially forming a blocking minority within the EU Council.

France remains the most vocal opponent, with Macron facing intense domestic pressure. French farmers, wary of a surge in competitive South American beef and soy imports, have planned a 10,000-person protest in Brussels for Thursday. Paris is demanding strict “mirror measures” to ensure Mercosur products meet rigorous EU environmental and health standards.

In a ministerial meeting in Brasilia, a visibly frustrated Lula accused European leaders of failing to “assume their responsibilities.”

“If we don't do it now, Brazil will not make any other agreements while I am president,” Lula warned. He argued that the Southern Common Market, also known as Mercosur and made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, has “given in on everything diplomatically possible” to secure the deal, which has been under negotiation since 1999.

Lula framed the agreement as a vital defense of multilateralism, particularly as US President Donald Trump's administration moves toward more unilateral trade policies.

The collapse of the deal would be a major setback for Germany and Spain, both of whom have lobbied heavily for the pact. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reportedly plans to exert “intense” pressure on EU partners during this week's summit, urging them not to “haggle” away a market that would encompass 722 million people.

Beyond trade, Lula expressed growing concern over the geopolitical climate in South America, specifically the rising tensions between Washington and Caracas. Despite the trade deadlock, Lula maintained that Brazil’s domestic situation remains “largely favorable,” even as political polarization impacts public opinion.

As it is, the fate of the world's largest potential free trade zone now rests on a high-stakes European summit on Thursday as well as on the Mercosur Leaders' Summit in Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil) on Saturday.