The Danish presidency of the Council may fall short of the supermajority required to approve the deal. EU rules demand a “qualified” majority, needing support from 15 of the 27 member countries, representing 65% of the population.
The French government reiterated dissatisfaction with the agreement on Thursday, stating their final decision depends on progress toward their demands.
“France is a significant agricultural power, and we strongly defend our agricultural interests in these negotiations… We continue to work on this agreement, which is not acceptable as it currently stands,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux to POLITICO.
Confavreux declined to specify whether France aimed to delay the vote until January.
A senior EU diplomat cautioned that the long-awaited trade deal, in the works for 25 years and poised to create a common market of over 700 million people, would not survive another postponement.
“If [von der Leyen] does not sign it, if we do not permit her to sign it on the 20th, it’s dead,” said the diplomat, who was granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue. “We need to consider if that’s the position we want in the world.”
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