The European Parliament forwarded a motion to the bloc’s Court of Justice that could paralyze the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union, signed last Saturday (17), in Paraguay.
Around 144 legislators asked the court to rule on the legality of the agreement. The group of parliamentarians argues that the treaty’s provisions restrict the European Union’s ability to set environmental and consumer health policies. The resolution also questions the legality of the so-called “rebalancing mechanism”, which would allow Mercosur countries to adopt compensatory measures if future European Union laws reduce their exports to Europe.
Normally, the court takes around two years to issue opinions like this. In a statement, the European Parliament stated that it will await the court’s analysis, and only then will they be able to vote on whether or not to approve the agreement. The European Commission could still move forward with a provisional application of the treaty while the appeal is considered, but it is considered unlikely to happen.
