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Commission President Ursula von der Leyen decided Friday to move ahead with the provisional application of the Mercosur trade agreement, brushing aside a judicial review launched by MEPs that has suspended the ratification process.
“The Commission will continue to work closely with all EU institutions to ensure a smooth and transparency process,” she told reporters. “This is one of the most consequential agreements of the first half of this century.”
The deal has split member states for years. While Germany has championed the agreement as bolstering access to global markets, France has led opposition, arguing that it will expose EU farmers to unfair competition from Mercosur imports.
Negotiated over 25 years, Mercosur would create a free-trade area spanning more than 700 million people between the EU and Latin America, including Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Von der Leyen said it would give European companies access to the Latin American market to a degree they “could only dream of” before, highlighting its export potential.
“It also gives Europe a strategic first-mover advantage in a world of sharp competition,” she added, as the EU seeks to diversify its trade partners amid rising geo-economic tensions.
However, opponents secured a majority in the European Parliament to refer the deal to the Court of Justice of the European Union in January, effectively freezing ratification.
Nonetheless, the Commission retained the legal option to provisionally apply the deal once one or more Mercosur countries completed their own ratification procedure. Argentina and Uruguay have already done so, paving the way for the EU executive.
This story is developing.