Brazil's Lula says France has not the 'final word' on EU-Mercosur deal

Brazil's President Lula da Silva said that France has not the 'final word' on the free-trade deal between the EU and South America's Mercosur bloc.

According to Lula, the European Commission is the one who decides and its president, Ursula von der Leyen, can finalize the deal without France. 

The blockbuster deal between the 27-country European Union and Mercosur countries -- Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay -- has been 25 years in the making and would create the world's biggest free trade zone.

The contours of the agreement with the Mercosur bloc -- which Brazil dominates -- were agreed in 2019, but progress on completing the pact has stalled since.