India, Jan. 11 -- Italy on Friday gave crucial support to plans by the European Union to seal a huge free trade deal with five South American nations neighboring Venezuela that has been negotiated for over 25 years. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was long seen as the key vote in the campaign by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to rally support for the trade deal with the Mercosur nations of Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Von der Leyen said the successful vote sends a "strong signal" of the EU's economic clout and stability "in the face of an increasingly hostile and transactional world." She said she would travel to Paraguay soon, where Mercosur nations are meeting next week. The European Parli...