Mercosur blocked, the ball passes to the EU Court of Justice

A second resolution presented by the Patriots group, which also asked for a legal evaluation, was instead rejected with 225 votes in favour, 402 against and 13 abstentions. As a consequence of the positive vote, both the legal basis of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement (Empa) and that of the Interim Trade Agreement (ITA) will now be examined by the Court of Justice, the European Chamber explains in a statement. While awaiting the Court’s opinion, the European Parliament “will be able to continue examining the texts but will have to wait for their publication before being able to approve or reject the ITA”.

The latter agreement, which concerns an exclusive EU competence, “is in fact only subject to ratification at Union level” and will require both the consent of the European Parliament and the final formal approval of the Council, after which it can enter into force, and will cease to apply once the Empa enters into force.