Commission President Ursula von der Leyen moved Friday to provisionally implement the contentious Mercosur trade deal, defying a judicial review launched by MEPs that had halted the ratification process.
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.
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"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.
The Parliament still needs to ratify the deal
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.
French President Emmanuel Macron reacted on Friday calling the Commission's decision “a bad surprise." He added that “It is a great responsibility toward the farmers who have expressed their concerns,” and “it is also a great responsibility toward European citizens and their representatives, who have not been duly respected.”
On his side, German MEP Manfred Weber, chair of the center-right EPP, the Parliament’s largest group said: "Today, the EU sends a clear signal to our international partners, our businesses, and our citizens."
"This will allow us to reap the benefits of free trade and international partnership until the European Parliament has the final say on ratification."
Once the Court rules on the case, the Parliament will vote to ratify the deal - though it remains deeply divided, with some MEPs backing the judicial review even as they support the deal.
French MEP Manon Aubry, co-chair of The Left group and a staunch opponent of the agreement, wrote on X: "The largest free trade agreement in history is therefore being implemented WITHOUT the vote of national parliaments, the European Parliament 🇪🇺, or the opinion of the Court of Justice of the EU." She added: "This is serious!"
Another French MEP, Jordan Bardella, chair of the far-right group The Patriots and of the French party Rassemblement National, also said it was "a power grab against our farmers and an overwhelming majority of French people committed to their food sovereignty and our producers."
The story has been updated with comments from the French President Emmanuel Macron and MEPs.