Italy says it would be ‘premature’ to sign EU-Mercosur trade deal

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday it would be "premature" for the European Union to sign a trade deal with the Mercosur bloc of Latin American countries.

Speaking in the Italian parliament on the eve of an EU summit, she said the deal needed adequate reciprocity guarantees for the agricultural sector.

Meloni also said she was confident conditions for the signature of the trade deal could be met early next year.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had been expected to fly to Brazil at the end of this week to sign the accord, reached a year ago after a quarter-century of talks with the bloc of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.