🇪🇺 Failure loop

On a Thursday in Brussels, the European Union once again found itself doing what it has done for most of the past quarter-century: postponing a trade deal with South America’s Mercosur bloc.

A self-imposed target to sign on December 20 was upended after an 11th-hour turnaround by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, pushing the decision to mid-January — that is, if she can persuade Italian farmers not to oppose the agreement, which is an increasingly tall order. The plan was for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to fly to Brazil and sign the deal during the final Mercosur summit before Brazil hands the bloc’s presidency to Paraguay. In the end, von der Leyen canceled her trip.

For Latin American leaders, the latest slip can feel like a frustrating ritual. The free-trade agreement has come close to fruition many times, only to falter under pressure from European agricultural groups.

For European officials, it is something even more uncomfortable: a stress test of Europe’s ability to act abroad while managing veto points at home, particularly when farming constituencies in countries like France, Poland and Italy loom large.

The EU-Mercosur trade agreement is an effort to…

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