EP seeks CJEU opinion on EU‑Mercosur agreements
EP Position
The Parliament expresses concern that splitting the EU‑Mercosur deal into the EMPA and the ITA may be incompatible with Article 218 TFEU and with the principles of conferral, institutional balance and sincere cooperation, and calls for a judicial assessment of compatibility. It also raises worries about impacts on national parliaments and democratic accountability.
Key Trade Point
The resolution highlights a newly designed rebalancing mechanism in the ITA that could allow compensation for trade effects of non‑breaching measures and may be used to challenge EU sustainability, environmental and food‑safety laws, potentially affecting the application of the precautionary principle and existing sanitary and phytosanitary controls for agricultural imports.
What Comes Next
The Parliament decides to seek an opinion from the Court of Justice under Article 218(11) TFEU and instructs its President to take the necessary measures and forward the resolution to the Council and the Commission.
Sources
Official Documents
- MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION seeking an opinion from the Court of Justice on the compatibility with the Treaties of the proposed Partnership Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Common Market of the South, the Argentine Republic, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Paraguay and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, of the other part, and the proposed Interim Agreement on Trade between the European Union, of the one part, and the Common Market of the South, the Argentine Republic, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Paraguay and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, of the other part Parliament adopted a resolution to seek an EU Court of Justice opinion on compatibility of EU–Mercosur Partnership Agreement and Interim Trade Agreement with the Treaties.
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