The free trade agreement concluded by the European Commission with the countries of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) is fully democratically legitimate and can enter into force provisionally as soon as the first South American country ratifies it, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.
“The agreement with Mercosur has been under discussion for 25 years and has finally been signed“, Merz said at a joint press conference with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. He also expressed “deep regret“ that the European Parliament adopted a resolution last Wednesday in support of an appeal to the Court of Justice to challenge the agreement's compliance with EU law. "For me, the democratic legitimacy of this agreement is beyond doubt," Merz stressed, adding that the decision was taken by a qualified majority.
The Chancellor noted that without Italy's consent, the necessary qualified majority in the European Council would not have been achieved. "Therefore, this agreement is democratically legitimate in the full sense of the word, at least for its preliminary entry into force. And it is precisely this preliminary entry into force that must happen. The corresponding decision was taken in the EU Council of Ministers two weeks ago," Merz said.
Once the first South American country ratifies this agreement, the Chancellor explained, it can enter into force immediately. "And I very much welcome that." "We must not allow ourselves to be deterred by those who ultimately seek to weaken Europe through trade policy," he concluded.
On 21 January, MEPs adopted a resolution in support of an appeal to the Court of Justice of the EU challenging the compliance of the free trade agreement with Mercosur with EU standards. It was signed on 17 January in Paraguay. The agreement was mainly supported by Germany and the Scandinavian countries, which are interested in reducing tariffs on automotive, chemical and pharmaceutical products sent from the EU to South America. Meanwhile, Austria, Hungary, Ireland, Poland and France oppose the agreement because they do not want cheap agricultural products from South America to freely enter the European market.
MERCOSUR is a trade and economic bloc founded by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The combined territory of these countries represents more than 70% of the area of South America, and their population is approaching 300 million. Trade between the EU and MERCOSUR exceeds €112 billion, and mutual imports and exports between the two associations are balanced.