The European Parliament has postponed the ratification of the EU-Mercosur agreement

The Vice-President of the European People's Party, Siegfried Mureşan, stated: "First of all, it is very good that we are finally having a debate on the free trade agreement between the European Union and four Latin American states, a free trade agreement that will bring together over 700 million citizens, consumers. It is a free trade agreement from which the European Union would benefit. The European Union's gross domestic product will increase by up to 80 billion euros annually in the coming years, thanks to the opportunities that duty-free exports to Latin America bring."

• The agreement will be sent to the CJEU, which will verify whether its provisions are in line with the rules included in the treaties on the organization and functioning of the European Union • PSD claims its victory regarding the postponement of the ratification of this treaty by the European Parliament

The EU-Mercosur trade agreement will be analyzed by the Court of Justice of the European Union, which will verify whether it complies with the treaties on the organization and functioning of the EU, the European Parliament decided yesterday, which voted on a resolution to this effect introduced by a group of pro-European deputies. The resolution passed with a small difference of votes - 334 for the referral to the CJEU, 324 against the referral -, but enough for the European magistrates to analyze the document signed last Saturday in Paraguay by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.

We note that there was also a motion for a resolution on the same subject on the agenda, from the Patriots for Europe group, which did not meet the necessary votes for approval, being rejected by 402 votes.

Following the adoption of the resolution proposed by a group of pro-European MEPs, the agreement will be sent to the CJEU, and Parliament is forced to postpone, until the Court rules, the ratification of this agreement, which should have taken place in April-May 2026.

Before the vote, the Vice-President of the European People's Party, Siegfried Mureşan, stated: "First of all, it is very good that we are finally having a debate on the free trade agreement between the European Union and four Latin American states, a free trade agreement that will bring together over 700 million citizens, consumers. It is a free trade agreement from which the European Union would benefit. The gross domestic product of the European Union will increase by up to 80 billion euros annually in the coming years, thanks to the opportunities that duty-free exports to Latin America bring. There will be a series of opportunities for many branches of industry, including the car manufacturing industry, for example, which represents over 13% of the gross domestic product of the Romania. But people must always have the complete picture, based on figures, based on truths. (...) I want this agreement to enter into force. I think it sufficiently protects farmers and I think it brings a series of opportunities for the economy, including the Romanian economy, because we will benefit from it”.

He specified that, following this vote, the European Commission could provisionally implement this agreement, until the CJEU and then the European Parliament rule, a provisional implementation that could also be agreed to by some of the 27 member states of the European Union, which means that the trade agreement will enter into force.

Immediately after the vote in the European Parliament, PSD issued a press release claiming victory regarding the adoption of yesterday's resolution, a claim that seems plausible considering that the difference was only 10 more votes for the referral to the CJEU, which is exactly the number of MEPs that the Social Democrats have in the Strasbourg forum.

The PSD press release states: "The vote of PSD MEPs has decisively tilted the European Parliament's decision in favor of the verification of the Mercosur Agreement by the Court of Justice of the European Union! The European Parliament's decision to request the CJEU to analyze whether the Mercosur Agreement complies with the European treaties was adopted with a majority of 334 votes in favor, compared to 324 votes against. The 10 votes of PSD MEPs made the difference! As promised, PSD voted to protect Romanian farmers and the agricultural sector in Romania and Europe. The vote expressed today in the European Parliament will suspend the procedure for adopting the Mercosur Agreement until the CJEU pronounces. PSD will continue to use all possible channels to determine that the European institutions introduce firm and effective guarantees in the Agreement that ensure equal competition between European and Latin American farmers. PSD believes that the undeniable benefits of the Mercosur Agreement should not be obtained to the detriment of sectors of activity that have a significant weight in the national economy of Romania. We support the Agreement, but with fair guarantees for Romanian and European farmers”.

PSD also mentions the effects of yesterday's vote: the suspension of the trade agreement until the CJEU decision. The Social Democrats argue that, if the CJEU determines that the agreement does not comply with European law, then depending on the court's motivation, the adoption process or even the entire renegotiation process with the Mercosur states will have to be resumed. This will allow the agreement to include stronger guarantees for farmers in the European Union. If the CJEU determines that the agreement complies with EU law, then the approval process will be resumed, with relatively high chances of being approved and supplemented without the additional guarantees requested by Romanian and European farmers.

• PSD voted twice to send the agreement to the CJEU

It seems that PSD MEPs came directly from the country with the idea of sending the EU-Mercosur agreement to the Court of Justice of the European Union. This is evident from the fact that the Social Democrats voted to send the agreement in both proposed resolutions: in the one introduced by the pro-European deputies and in the one introduced by the Patriots for Europe group. PSD elected representatives probably wanted to be sure that one of the two resolutions would be approved and the agreement would reach the CJEU, which is what happened.

Surprising is the vote of MEP Diana Iovanovici Şoşoacă, who was among the Romanian farmers at Tuesday's protest in Strasbourg. The head of SOS Romania, although she declared herself against the EU-Mercosur agreement, abstained from voting on both resolutions proposing to send this agreement to the CJEU. If both resolutions had failed, the agreement would have been ratified by the European Parliament in April-May 2026, and Diana Iovanovici-Şoşoacă's abstention from voting would have contributed to this.

• Dan Barna: The Mercosur agreement is a breath of fresh air for the European economy

The EU-Mercosur agreement represents a breath of fresh air for the European economy, given the free access of goods from the 27 EU member states to the Latin American market, said Dan Barna, a USR/Renew Europe MEP, after yesterday's vote, who said he voted against sending this agreement to the CJEU.

Dan Barna stated: "Sending the agreement to the CJEU is good news for China, very good news for China, which gains a space to penetrate even further into the South American market, good news for Trump, probably for the United States, showing, unfortunately, the inability of the European Parliament to understand the strategic importance and major stakes of opening the European market to other markets in the context in which the old partnerships no longer work. (...) There is a need (...) for pragmatism, by opening new markets, by access and cooperation in new economic markets. Today's vote probably delays, or rather, the Commission will decide to start the agreement under these limited conditions, but it very clearly weakens the power and credibility of the Parliament in a context in which we also see from the budget proposal a desire of the Commission to centralize decision-making power. (...) There were practically 10 votes that made the difference, practically the 10 votes of the PSD. The referral to the CJEU shows that, in fact, Europe remains tributary to the idea of bureaucracy, the idea of "let's not make decisions", "let's drag on" in a procedure through which, in fact, we should not make decisions on high stakes. I repeat, the agreement with Mercosur is a breath of fresh air, given that the European economy has had bronchitis for some years".

The MEP said he was convinced that the EU-Mercosur agreement would enter into force, but he specified that the delay caused by its referral to the CJEU would only help extremist, sovereignist rhetoric, and not at all pro-European forces.