Farmers celebrate in Strasbourg as EU‑Mercosur deal is referred to the Court of Justice

From our correspondent in Strasbourg – The European Parliament is blocking the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement. By just 10 votes, the Strasbourg chamber approved a request to refer the text to the EU Court of Justice for verification of its compatibility with the treaties. Hundreds of farmers who have been gathered outside the European Parliament since yesterday are celebrating, dealing a severe blow to Ursula von der Leyen, who just this morning, in a speech to the Chamber, had assured that she had “listened carefully” to the concerns of European agriculture.

 There were two requests before the European Parliament to refer the matter to the Court of Justice: one tabled by the European Left group and backed by 145 MEPs from five political groups, and the other by the Patriots for Europe group. The first was approved with 334 votes in favour, 324 against, and 11 abstentions. The second was rejected, with 225 votes in favour, 402 against, and 13 abstentions.

 Essentially, the European Parliament’s vote to ratify the agreement will now remain blocked until the judges in Luxembourg make their ruling. The Commission, in any case, has the power to force the issue and bring the trade agreement into effect on a provisional basis.

The Court of Justice will therefore examine the legal basis of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement (EMPA) and the Interim Trade Agreement (iTA), in accordance with the guidelines contained in the text adopted. Parliament fears that splitting the agreement into two could be incompatible with the treaties and with the principles of conferral, institutional balance, and sincere cooperation.​ Furthermore, the text approved today suggests that “the rebalancing mechanism provided for in the agreement” is incompatible with several articles of the TFEU. Pending the Court’s opinion, the European Parliament may continue to examine the texts, but will have to wait for the judges before it can approve or reject the iTA.

For The Left group, this vote “marks an important step in the defence of democracy,” which was necessary because “the European Commission decided to ignore Parliament and signed a provisional agreement before the democratic process was completed.” The group’s leader, Manon Aubry, warned: “Any move by the Council and the European Commission to push for provisional application would amount to another democratic scandal, while farmers have been protesting against this agreement for months.”

 The Five Star Movement delegation speaks of a “resounding personal defeat for Ursula von der Leyen and Giorgia Meloni,” while the League emphasises von der Leyen’s rejection by “her own political majority”. Brando Benifei, MEP for the Democratic Party and Coordinator for International Trade for the S&D Group, expressed “regret for a decision that effectively prevents Parliament from immediately initiating the necessary process of democratic scrutiny of the agreement, as well as its eventual final approval.”