BRUSSELS ―European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told EU leaders at their summit on Thursday that the Mercosur trade won’t be signed as scheduled on Saturday and instead would wait until next month, two EU diplomats told POLITICO.

Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he agreed to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s request to postpone the signature so she can reassure the country’s farmers that they wouldn’t be undercut by cheap poultry and beef, von der Leyen told the group, according to the diplomats.

An eleventh-hour turnaround from Meloni threw into disarray a self-imposed objective of signing the agreement this week with the Mercosur countries, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

Meloni asked the Brazilian leader for more time to back the agreement, which has been 25 years in the making, so she can secure domestic support in favor of the deal.

“A date would be found mid-January if the signing is kicked to 2026,” an EU official told POLITICO.