European Parliament Halts EU-Mercosur Agreement by Sending It to Justice

The European Parliament referred the trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) this Wednesday, so that the community court can review whether it is compatible with EU treaties, which effectively paralyzes its processing until the judges issue their opinion.

By 334 votes in favor, 324 against, and eleven abstentions, the European Parliament gave the green light to a motion questioning whether the agreement with Mercosur, newly signed this weekend after more than a quarter of a century of negotiations, respects the European Union treaties.

On the table is the legal validity of the rebalancing mechanism included in the pact, which several MEPs fear could affect the EU's regulatory autonomy, and also the legal basis chosen for its approval, which allows trade-focused chapters of the agreement to be ratified without the consent of national parliaments.

According to the CJEU, such opinions take an average of 18 to 24 months to be delivered, although the court "has full control" over the proceedings and "can, when circumstances require, prioritize a request for an opinion in practice."

Different voices within the European Parliament had warned on the eve that it would be a very close vote and had cautioned against delaying the ratification of the agreement by sending its text to the CJEU, especially in light of Donald Trump's tariff threats over the deployment of troops to Greenland by eight European countries.