European Parliament wants Mercosur agreement assessed by the Court of Justice of the EU

The European Parliament has decided to have the EU’s free trade agreement with four countries from the Latin American Mercosur bloc reviewed by the European Court of Justice.

This became clear after a vote on Wednesday in the European Parliament.

The agreement has otherwise been signed by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and is considered an important step for the EU in its efforts to open new markets for exports.

Vice-President of the European Parliament, Christel Schaldemose (S), is disappointed with the decision.

– It is deeply worrying that the European Parliament, in a time of global unrest, chooses to drag out the Mercosur agreement.

– Europe needs new, strong partners around the world, precisely because we can no longer take old alliances for granted, and because we are under pressure from both east and west, says Christel Schaldemose.

The European Commission has previously stated that the agreement can enter into force without the approval of the European Parliament. And according to the spokesperson for the European Commission, Olof Gill, the European Commission will choose to let the agreement enter into force temporarily while waiting for the court’s decision.

Thus, the decision of the European Parliament does not initially stop the agreement.

– The European Commission regrets the decision of the European Parliament. According to our analysis, the questions raised by the European Parliament are not justified.

– For the European Commission has already addressed these questions in detail with the European Parliament, says Olof Gill.

He states that the European Commission will now again enter into dialogue with the European Parliament and its members.

– We will explain to them why they can safely support the agreement and why we believe it is vital for the EU, says Olof Gill.

He points out that the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Wednesday in the European Parliament spoke in favor of increased EU independence in, among other things, the area of trade.

This is necessary in a world which, according to von der Leyen, is increasingly governed by “raw power”.

According to Olof Gill, the issue of the Mercosur agreement will now be raised at Thursday’s extraordinary EU summit in Brussels.

The agreement was adopted by a qualified majority of the EU countries. But this happened after delays and continued political disputes.

In the end, Italy chose to support the agreement, so that the qualified majority was achieved.

But this happened over the heads of major EU countries such as France and Poland. In addition to France and Poland, Austria, Hungary and Ireland also voted against the agreement.

This was largely due to concerns about the consequences of the agreement for European agriculture.

With Wednesday’s decision, the European Parliament raises new doubts about the agreement, which has been 26 years in the making and has been the subject of extensive agricultural protests in, among other countries, France, Poland and Belgium.

Wednesday’s decision also runs counter to the EU’s attempts to increase its independence in the area of trade at a time when the President of the United States, Donald Trump, has already imposed tariffs of 15 percent on European goods.

And now the United States is threatening further tariffs on European countries in the escalating dispute over Greenland.

Therefore, the EU should stick to the agreement, believes Christel Schaldemose.

– The agreement provides access to a market with around 700 million consumers and strengthens the European and Danish economies. The EU needs more partners, not fewer, says Christel Schaldemose.

In the vote on Wednesday, 334 Members of the European Parliament voted in favor of the court’s legal assessment. 324 voted against and 11 abstained.