European Parliament refers Mercosur trade deal to court

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

67% : "This comes at a time when EU producers and exporters urgently need access to new markets, and when the EU must deliver on its diversification agenda and demonstrate that it remains a reliable and predictable trade partner.
56% : The EU's highest court has also issued opinions on an agreement with Singapore and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada.
52% : The European Parliament has decided to have the contested EU free trade agreement with four countries from the Latin American Mercosur bloc reviewed by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
52% : liberal French EU lawmaker Pascal Canfin wrote on X. "It's good that we're getting certainty on this," said Green lawmaker Erik Marquardt of Germany.
51% : On Monday, EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič defended the Mercosur agreement, describing it as "a good deal for Europe" in the European Parliament on Monday.
50% : The motion, which was tabled by the Left group in the European Parliament, was backed by lawmakers from the Greens, but also by moderate parliamentarians from EU countries with more protectionist policies like France.
49% : At a vote on Wednesday, 334 European Union lawmakers voted in favour of the legal assessment, 324 against and 11 abstained.
48% : The trade agreement between the EU's 27 member countries and the Mercosur countries Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay paves the way for one of the world's largest free trade areas, covering more than 700 million people and a combined economic output of around $22 trillion.
45% : "I hope that the ECJ will work swiftly and bring parliament back into play," said Bullmann, who is a member of the European Parliament's committee on international trade.
42% : If the ECJ finds that an agreement is not compatible with EU law, it can only enter into force if it is amended.
40% : EU Commission 'stronglyregrets' decision "The commission strongly regrets the decision by the European Parliament to seek an opinion from the ECJ," a spokesman for the European Commission said.
40% : Our credibility and reliability as the European Union have suffered serious damage today," conservative lawmakers Niclas Herbst of the Christian Democratic Union and Angelika Niebler of the Christian Social Union said in a joint statement.
36% : EU lawmakers from Germany's ruling coalition parties however expressed regret over the decision.
27% : Additionally there are fears that EU standards on consumer protection, the environment and animal welfare could be compromised.

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