{"id":327328,"date":"2026-01-23T12:17:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/breaking-news\/eu-ready-to-roll-out-mercosur-deal-once-south-american-ratifications-start-von-der-leyen-says.html"},"modified":"2026-01-23T12:17:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T12:17:01","slug":"eu-ready-to-roll-out-mercosur-deal-once-south-american-ratifications-start-von-der-leyen-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/breaking-news\/eu-ready-to-roll-out-mercosur-deal-once-south-american-ratifications-start-von-der-leyen-says.html","title":{"rendered":"EU \u2018ready\u2019 to roll out Mercosur deal once South American ratifications start, von der Leyen says"},"content":{"rendered":"
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EU \u2018ready\u2019 to roll out Mercosur deal once South American ratifications start, von der Leyen says<\/h2>\n
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In Brussels, the immediate obstacle is less the text itself than the institutional and political sequencing<\/span> <\/figure>\n

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union is prepared to provisionally implement the EU\u2013Mercosur trade agreement as soon as Mercosur countries begin completing their ratification procedures, seeking to reassure partners after a European Parliament vote injected fresh uncertainty into the bloc\u2019s approval track.<\/p>\n

The message comes days after the agreement was signed in Asunci\u00f3n, an event framed by EU leaders as a strategic bet on rules-based trade at a time of mounting tariff threats and geopolitical friction. The ceremony \u2014with Argentina\u2019s President Javier Milei present and Brazil\u2019s Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva absent\u2014 took place after negotiations stretching roughly 25 years.<\/p>\n

In Brussels, the immediate obstacle is less the text itself than the institutional and political sequencing. On Wednesday, the European Parliament backed a motion<\/a> \u2014334 votes to 324, with 11 abstentions\u2014 to request a legal opinion from the EU\u2019s Court of Justice (CJEU), a treaty mechanism that can slow down the process and sharpen divisions across party lines.<\/p>\n

The Commission has signaled it will try to keep momentum. Vice-President Teresa Ribera described the parliamentary move as legitimate but emphasized how narrowly it passed, while indicating the Commission would explore ways to prevent a lengthy freeze. Reuters has reported that EU officials and some member states are examining options for provisional application, even as the Parliament\u2019s role in granting final consent looms as the key political test.<\/p>\n

After an extraordinary EU leaders\u2019 meeting in Brussels \u2014called primarily over transatlantic strains linked to Greenland\u2014 European Council President Ant\u00f3nio Costa publicly urged the Commission to use the Council\u2019s earlier decision to move toward provisional implementation when the timing is ripe.<\/p>\n

Supporters of a faster rollout argue the deal would help Europe widen export markets and reduce vulnerability to protectionism elsewhere, while critics \u2014from parts of the left to far-right groups and farming interests\u2014 warn about regulatory constraints and environmental and consumer-policy implications. The Parliament\u2019s recourse to the CJEU underscores how contested the file remains inside the EU\u2019s institutions.<\/p>\n

The Council of the EU has already endorsed the signature of the EU\u2013Mercosur package, but it also underlined that the agreements cannot be formally concluded without the European Parliament\u2019s consent \u2014a reminder that Brussels can prepare for speed, but cannot avoid a difficult political count in Strasbourg.<\/p>\n


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