The Chair of Wexford IFA Tom Doyle will be interviewed on tomorrow’s Morning Mix at 10:05am about the latest developments on the Mercosur Trade Deal.
The European Parliament has voted to refer the European Union’s free trade agreement with South America to the bloc’s top court, a move that could delay the deal by two years and potentially derail it.
The European Union signed its largest-ever trade pact with Mercosur members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay on Saturday.The agreement still requires approval before it can take effect.
In a close ballot, MEPs voted 334 to 324 in favour of asking the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to determine whether the deal is compatible with the bloc’s policy. The European Commission said it regrets the decision. MEPs are concerned splitting the deal into two parts doesn’t comply with an existing EU framework.
A group of 144 politicians lodged a legal challenge asking the EU Court of Justice to rule on whether the agreement can be applied before full ratification by all member states and whether its provisions restrict the EU’s ability to set environmental and consumer health policies.
The court typically takes around two years to deliver such opinions.
Ireland was one of five countries, including France, Austria, Hungary and Poland, to vote against the agreement. Thousands of farmers have protested in each of those countries in recent weeks against the deal.
