Italy and France want to delay a final European Union vote on the Mercosur trade deal, two sources familiar with the discussions said, a move which risks derailing an accord that has taken 25 years to negotiate.
The deal with the Mercosur group of Latin American nations is the largest brokered by the EU in terms of tariff relief, and proponents say it offers a route away from reliance on China and relief from the impact of US President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Getting a deal done this month is seen by some as a test of Europe's ability to act as a unified bloc, days after Trump hit out at EU leaders for being "weak" at a time when they are searching for agreement on how to bolster financing for Ukraine.
Germany, Spain and Nordic countries are strong supporters of the deal.
But critics of the accord worry it gives away too much to Mercosur members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay and would result in cheap South American commodities flooding the European market to the detriment of European farmers.
France resists
France has been trying to rally other EU countries to form a blocking minority against the deal negotiated by the European Commission.
It wants more robust safeguards to protect farmers added to the accord.
The French government earlier announced it was seeking to delay the EU vote to approve the deal in order to obtain "legitimate protections" for farmers.
President Emmanuel Macron has reiterated to EU leaders that a proposed trade deal with Mercosur countries does not yield sufficient benefits for French agriculture, officials at the French presidency said on Tuesday.
"The president made it very clear to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa (late on Monday) that the deal doesn't add up in terms of protection for French farmers," an Elysee official said.
Blocking minority takes shape
Denmark, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, will now have to decide whether to press ahead with a vote this week as planned.
Danish representatives in Brussels did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If Denmark defies Paris and Rome, the deal could be shot down.
A blocking minority requires support from at least four member states representing 35 percent of the EU's population.
Poland and Hungary oppose the Mercosur trade deal, Austria's government is bound by law to oppose the accord, while Ireland has sympathy for the French concerns.
A third source said that it looked like France would have a blocking minority if Denmark proceeded.
The French presidency and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.
Is European sovereignty dead?
A broad majority of EU members need to vote in favour of the deal to allow Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to sign the deal.
The accord, agreed a year ago, would open new markets to European exporters badly hit by US tariffs and Chinese competition and give Brussels new trade allies.
"If we don’t sign Mercosur in the next days, it will be dead," one EU diplomat cautioned.
"If we can’t agree on Mercosur, we don’t need to talk about European sovereignty anymore. We will make ourselves geopolitically irrelevant," they added.
The Commission, which is in charge of negotiating EU trade deals, offered safeguards this autumn that would allow preferential Mercosur access for some agricultural products to be suspended under certain market conditions.
The trigger for safeguards to be activated would be if the import volumes rose by more than 10 percent or prices fell by the same amount in one or more EU member countries.
However, France has deemed the safeguards "incomplete".
"Any postponement is a very good signal," said Polish Agriculture Minister Stefan Krajewski.
Volker Treier, from the German Chamber of Commerce DIHK, said: "The EU must not miss the opportunity to strengthen ties with key trade and raw material partners in South America and to reduce existing trade barriers."
