Nicosia, Cyprus. Four of Cyprus’ six members of the European Parliament voted in favour of a motion to request an opinion from the European Court of Justice on the EU-Mercosur trade deal. The motion passed narrowly, delaying the European Parliament’s ratification vote.
Motion and concerns over legality
The motion warned the deal may be incompatible with existing EU law and said guidelines for negotiation issued by the Council of the EU may not have been respected by the European Commission. The deal was signed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Paraguay on Saturday.
How Cyprus MEPs voted
Akel’s Giorgos Georgiou, a signatory of the motion, voted in favour, joined by Elam’s Geadis Geadi, Diko’s Costas Mavrides, and independent Fidias Panayiotou. Disy’s Michalis Hadjipantela and Loucas Fourlas voted against.
European Parliament vote and next steps
The motion passed with 334 MEPs voting in favour, 324 against, and 11 abstaining. As a result, the European Parliament’s vote to ratify the deal, previously expected in February or March, will now take place only after the ECJ delivers its ruling on the deal’s legality.
Timeline and provisional implementation
The ECJ process is expected to take at least a year, with some reports on Wednesday suggesting a ruling may not be reached until 2028. EU law allows the deal to be provisionally implemented without a European Parliament vote, though doing so after Wednesday’s vote would be seen as souring relations between EU institutions.
Commission reaction
EU director-general for trade Sabine Weyland had, according to Euractiv, reassured MEPs that the deal would not necessarily be automatically implemented without the parliament’s consent. A European Commission spokesperson told the Cyprus Mail on Wednesday afternoon that the commission “strongly regrets the decision”.
What do you think the delay could mean for the EU-Mercosur trade deal’s next steps?