The European Parliament has voted to refer the European Union-Mercosur trade agreement to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for an opinion on its compatibility with EU treaties.
This decision today is likely to delay the deal’s full ratification by around 18 to 24 months as the court typically requires that amount of time to deliver such non-binding opinions.
The vote followed the formal signing of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and Interim Trade Agreement on January 17 in Paraguay.
A cross-party resolution, initially supported by more than 140 MEPs, led by figures from the Greens, The Left and others and backed by members from S&D, Renew and some European People’s Party (EPP) members, called for the referral.
It focused on concerns including the agreement’s legal basis, a “rebalancing mechanism” that could limit the EU’s future environmental or health standards legislation as well as overall compliance with the bloc’s primary law.
The EP approved the request in a tight vote in Strasbourg, with 334 MEPs in favour, 324 against and 11 abstentions.
This obliges the EP’s President, Roberta Metsola, to forward the resolution to the CJEU, the European Council and the European Commission.
The referral suspends or significantly slows the ratification process pending the court’s assessment, although the EC could still pursue provisional application of certain trade elements such as tariff reductions under the Interim Trade Agreement, subject to legal and political constraints.
The move comes amid strong opposition from European farmers, environmental groups and some member states, notably France and Ireland, who argue that the deal threatens local agriculture. That is through increased imports of beef, poultry, sugar and other products produced to lower standards, potentially undermining EU environmental and consumer protections.
Protests, including tractor demonstrations in Strasbourg, surrounded the EP building ahead of the vote.
Supporters of the agreement, including parts of the EPP group and EC President Ursula von der Leyen, warn that delays could harm EU credibility, economic interests and competition with other global players such as China in Latin America.
Jessika van Leeuwen, MEP for the Dutch Farmer Citizen Movement and member of the international trade committee said her party is satisfied with the referral of the Mercosur trade agreement to the CJEU.
She referred to statements made in the past few days by the Paraguayan Minister of Foreign Affairs, the temporary chair of Mercosur, regarding additional protective measures for farmers, saying a referral to the Court is necessary.
Lezcano reportedly stated that the EU safeguard measures “are not part of the Mercosur-EU agreement”.
Van Leeuwen said: “We now expect a delay of at least a year and a half. Should the Commission proceed with provisional application of the agreement, it would be doing so without the approval of the European Parliament. If it were to take that decision, it would constitute a serious breach of the principle of the rule of law.”
French MEP Laurent Castillo yesterday defected from the EPP to the right-wing Patriots for Europe group in reaction to the approval of the Merocsur deal.
The deal, after more than 25 years of negotiations, aims to eliminate tariffs on around 91 per cent of trade between the regions, boosting EU exports of machinery, automobiles, wine and cheese.
The EP’s final consent vote on the agreement itself is not expected until April or May 2026 at the earliest, and the CJEU opinion could require amendments if incompatibilities are found.
A separate motion of censure against the EC over its handling of the deal was also debated but is unlikely to pass, requiring a two-thirds majority.
