The European Union on Thursday said it has agreed to sign a free trade deal with South Korea at a summit with the Asian country in October.

Belgian Foreign Minister Stevn Vanackere said at a press conference that a compromise on the agreement was reached after "intense negotiations." The two sides, he said, will formally sign the agreement at the EU-Korean summit Oct. 6.

The EU and South Korea had been expected to finalize the deal last week but the agreement was delayed due to opposition from Italy. Italy has been refusing to sign the deal, citing concerns about the agreement's impact on its auto industry.

Following more than two years of negotiations, the EU and South Korea initialed the free trade agreement last October.

Vanackere hailed the pact as "the most ambitious agreement ever" because it removes both tariff and non-tariff barriers between the two sides.

South Korea is the EU's eighth largest trading partner while the EU is South Korea's second largest export destination.