Brazil to monitor decision holding up Mercosur agreement
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported on Wednesday (Jan. 21) that it had taken note of and is monitoring the next steps following the European Parliament’s decision, adopted by a narrow margin, to ask the Court of Justice of the European Union for a legal assessment of the bloc’s trade partnership agreement with Mercosur (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay).
The treaty, which provides for the creation of the world’s largest free trade zone, with more than 720 million inhabitants, was signed by representatives of both sides last Saturday (17) in Asunción, Paraguay, the country holding the bloc’s temporary presidency.
“The Brazilian government gives top priority to the ratification of the Mercosur–European Union Agreement and will continue working to accelerate its internal approval procedures in order to ensure that all conditions for its full entry into force are met as quickly as possible,” the ministry said in a statement sent to the press.
The request for an opinion on the legality of the treaty’s terms, as well as on the procedures adopted for its conclusion, was approved on Wednesday by members of the European Parliament. In practice, the measure halts the agreement’s implementation process, which still requires approval by the legislatures of the 32 countries involved (27 European and five South American).
A total of 334 members of the European Parliament voted in favor of the request for a legal assessment by the Court of Justice, with 324 votes against and 11 abstentions.
Agreement
Under the approved terms, the trade treaty provides for the gradual elimination of customs tariffs on most goods and services traded between the two blocs. Mercosur will remove tariffs on 91 percent of European goods within 15 years, while the European Union will lift tariffs on 95 percent of Mercosur goods within 12 years.
