Brussels is facing an old European scene: angry farmers blocking roads with tractors, paralyzing parts of the EU capital and forcing political leaders into retreat. In this context, the European Union has once again delayed the long-negotiated trade agreement with South America’s Mercosur bloc, pushing any decision to January amid mounting protests and open opposition from France and Italy.

Thousands of farmers have converged on Brussels, denouncing what they see as a deal that would flood Europe with cheaper agricultural imports and undermine local producers. Diplomatic talks aside, tractors in the streets have a way of questioning political priorities.

In any case, one may recall that negotiations between the EU and Mercosur began in 1999. More than a quarter-century later, agreement remains unsigned, ratified by no one, and increasingly contested. Brazil’s Lula has even threatened to abandon the deal altogether, frustrated by what he sees as European foot-dragging driven by internal politics, particularly pressure from Paris and Rome.

EU leaders are indeed deeply split, with agricultural lobbies exerting enough pressure to make postponement politically inevitable.This mismatch is not new. As Brazilian journalist Assis Moreira notes, the EU and Mercosur have spent 26 years talking past each other, with Europe emphasizing regulatory standards, sustainability clauses, and protection........

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