EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa plan to travel to Brazil on 20 December for the signing of the contentious agreement with the Mercosur trading bloc of South American countries.
The Commission, which has been negotiating the deal for 25 years, is confident a majority of EU member states will support it. But EU diplomats say the arithmetic remains uncertain, with the split between supporters and opponents still razor-thin.
