The European Parliament puts more obstacles in the way of the Mercosur agreement and sends it to the European courts.

BrusselsMore obstacles in the European Union's trade agreement with MercosurThe European Parliament voted on Wednesday to denounce the agreement with the EU-Mercosur trade pact in Luxembourg, arguing that it does not comply with the European Union Treaties. Negotiations began 25 years ago. The European Parliament voted to denounce the pact before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in an attempt to postpone its entry into force. The vote was very close, with 334 votes in favor, just ten more than against. The result has once again highlighted the division that the trade agreement with Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay generates among member states and parliamentary groups. The European Parliament denounced the EU-Mercosur pact in Luxembourg, considering that it does not conform to the Treaties of the European Union. With this move, the European Parliament postpones its own ratification vote on the agreement—originally scheduled for next spring—until there is a court ruling. It should be noted that the CJEU takes an average of two years to issue a decision, and therefore, the European Parliament would be delaying its final decision for at least another two years.

Now, even if the European Parliament blocks the final entry into force of the trade agreement, the European Commission can force it into operation temporarily without the Parliament's final approval. However, a court ruling against the agreement or a vote against it by the European Parliament would invalidate it.

The European Commission is fully convinced that the agreement respects EU treaties, but remains ambiguous about whether it intends to force its temporary entry into force without the European Parliament's final approval. Despite its eagerness to implement it as soon as possible, Brussels fears that this move could anger the European Parliament and ultimately give it more grounds to reject the agreement in the final vote, which has been postponed indefinitely this Wednesday.