Image: Reve AI generatedOn the European side, the trade deal with the Latin American bloc Mercosur has still not been fully approved. The European Parliament decided that the European Court of Justice must first review the trade agreement which will likely lead to a delay.
A resolution to have the treaty legally reviewed received a majority of 10 votes (334 to 324, with 11 abstentions). Those in favour cheered and clapped when it became clear that the resolution had received a majority.
The Mercosur bloc consists of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Talks about the deal have been going on for years. Farmers all over Europe have been protesting against the deal.
The vote’s outcome might lead to a delay of 1.5 years. The vote is considered a major blow for the European Commission, which signed the agreement earlier this January. President Bernd Lange of the European Parliament’s Trade Committee called the vote “absolutely irresponsible.” He believes the European Parliament’s request is a delaying tactic “under the guise of legal review.” He said, “Very damaging to our economic interests and standing. Team Europe is being sidelined.”
Division over the treaty
The European agricultural organisation Copa-Cogeca said the vote demonstrates how divided Europe is over the treaty. “It also shows that the arguments put forward by farmers, simply honesty, have convinced a large part of Parliament.”
Copa-Cogeca believes that farmers are the first to pay the price for geopolitical unrest. Fair and balanced trade, in line with internal policies, must be a certainty, even in uncertain times. Trade policy can no longer reward lower standards than those European farmers must meet.
