BRASÍLIA: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said yesterday that he would present Italy’s request for a postponement of a mammoth EU trade deal with South America to a summit of regional leaders this weekend.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni “asked me that if we have patience for a week, ten days, a month, Italy will be ready for the agreement,” Lula said after a phone call with Meloni, adding the request would be discussed at a meeting of the Mercosur trading bloc.

The EU-Mercosur pact would create one of the world’s biggest free-trade areas.

The European Commission and Mercosur members wanted to get the long-delayed deal over the line before this weekend’s summit.

However, European heavyweights France and Italy are leading a drive to postpone the signing of the deal, over concerns for the fallout for Europe’s agriculture sector.

Mercosur members, led by Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, will hold their annual summit on Saturday in the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguacu.

Meloni said on Wednesday that it would be “premature” to sign off on the deal “in the coming days”.

French President Emmanuel Macron declared yesterday that the agreement “cannot be signed” in its current form.

A demonstration by farmers in Brussels yesterday descended into rioting.