São Paulo, Brazil — The European Parliament voted on Wednesday to freeze the EU-Mercosur freetrade deal by referring it to the EU Court of Justice. A close result — gathered by 334 votes in favour, 324 against and 11 absences — now needs to wait for a judicial response to move on.
The decision happens after more than 25 years of ongoing negotiations. The final agreement between Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and the 27 European nations – which promises to create the biggest free trade area in the world – was signed by the parties on January 17.
Numbers shared by the European Commission project that the EU-Mercosur deal would increase the EU’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by more than €77.6 billion by 2040, with a 39% increase of annual exports up to €50 billion. There’s also an expectation that the arrangement would support up to 600,000 jobs in Europe.
The proposed benefits, however, didn’t stop protests against the signing in countries that oppose the deal, such as France. Many who opposed the deal include farmers who are scared that the deal would compromise their home markets. Earlier this month, the European media reported a protest by farmers in Paris that led around 350 tractors to the city of lights’ streets.
Besides the agricultural sector, the partnership between both continents – which is now frozen – would have also covered services and small to medium enterprises. Analysts, however, say the bureaucratic shutdown was expected.
“First of all, it was already clear that there would be this blockage in the European Parliament,” said Vitelio Brustolin, an adjunct-professor at Columbia’s University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and a researcher at Harvard University’s Department of the History of Science.
“This type of analysis, according to the European Union, takes 16 to 18 months, and the MEPs will only evaluate the agreement after the court pronounces itself, whether the legal basis of the EU-Mercosur agreement respects the legal basis of the European Union in comparison with the interim trade agreement of the European Union,” he told Latin America Reports.
He explained that if the Court of Justice of the European Union rules against the agreement by believing it violates a legal basis shared by the economic bloc, the signed deal would have to be amended, with a new obstacle, generating a longer wait.
Featured image credit: Mercosur via Hamner_Fotos via Flickr.
