The Italian newspaper Il Mattino published a commentary by Pietro Paganini on the Mercosur agreement and the decisive role Italy can play in this crucial phase. 

Read the full article in Italian on Il Mattino or the English translation below.

Latin America has returned to the center of global dynamics. Developments in Venezuela, renewed U.S. activism, and China’s now-structural economic presence are reshaping the region. In this context, the EU–Mercosur agreement is no longer just a trade dossier: it is a geopolitical choice.

Individual European countries, considered in isolation, carry little weight. Only as the European Union can Europe strengthen its international presence and offer an alternative model to the Chinese approach, based on systematic acquisition of strategic assets, and the American approach, often relying on force and political pressure. Mercosur offers Europe a different tool: a regulated free market, with free trade as a lever for development, stability, and cooperation, consistent with the founding principles of the European project. For this reason, postponing the EU–Mercosur agreement is not a prudent choice. It is a strategic mistake. Paradoxically, those who might pay the price are precisely the agricultural sectors that Europe claims to want to protect.

Unlike other countries, the Italian government has not rejected the agreement. Instead, it has had the merit of strongly raising the issue of guarantees for the agricultural sector, helping to strengthen safeguard instruments, rapid response mechanisms, and attention to food security, as well as discussions on the resources of the Common Agricultural Policy. This constructive role improved the quality of the agreement. However, that phase is now over. Protections are on the table. At this point, Italy has both the opportunity and the responsibility to support the agreement and secure this outcome, turning its previous reservations into a European political success rather than a strategic obstacle.

The agreement involves Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and together with the European Union, affects around 780 million people. In 2024, trade in goods between the EU and Mercosur exceeded €110 billion. According to the European Commission, the removal of tariffs under the agreement could generate savings for European companies exceeding €4 billion per year. Postponing Mercosur therefore means foregoing not only concrete economic opportunities but also the chance to strengthen Europe’s presence in a region increasingly contested by global powers. 

The resistance is mainly based on widespread fears of increased imports and a presumed asymmetry of rules. However, this narrative does not hold up under careful analysis. Mercosur is not a free-for-all liberalization. It is the result of over twenty years of negotiations and includes precise protection mechanisms: tariff quotas for the most sensitive agricultural products, safeguard clauses in case of market imbalances, full compliance with European health standards, rules on origin and traceability along the supply chain, and protection of geographical indications.

Blocking or delaying the agreement out of defensive reflexes does not strengthen European agriculture. On the contrary, it risks making it increasingly dependent on public subsidies. Without competition, innovation slows; without innovation, productivity falls; and when productivity falls, public support tends to become structural.

Italy is a case in point. It is not self-sufficient in agricultural and food production and depends on imports of raw materials, feed, and energy. The quality of Italian agricultural products need not fear market opening: the value of Made in Italy lies in quality, processing, identity, and supply chains, not in isolation. This is particularly true for the South. Southern ports, Mediterranean logistics, and the agri-food processing industry can benefit from a Europe more integrated into global trade flows. In a continent where over 70% of agricultural products are processed, access to raw materials is an essential condition for competitiveness.

Today, Mercosur is much more than a trade agreement. In an era marked by the return of protectionism, the European Union has the opportunity to demonstrate that market openness, standards protection, and free trade are not contradictory. Today in Brussels and tomorrow in Cyprus, Europe is called upon to reach a political agreement so that, on the 12th in Paraguay, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen can sign a historic agreement that strengthens Europe’s presence in Latin America and credibly reaffirms the values of the free market. Postponing Mercosur further would not defend agriculture: it would waste an improved outcome, partly thanks to Italy, and weaken Europe at the very moment it needs to demonstrate unity, credibility, and a global vision.