site.btaGreens Announce Unofficially that EU Has Approved Mercosur Agreement despite Opposition

The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament announced that the EU member states on Friday approved, by a majority, the agreement with the Mercosur countries of South America. The statement specifies that France, Poland, Ireland, Austria and Hungary voted against the agreement, while Belgium abstained. As of the late afternoon Bulgarian time on Friday, when the deadline for voting by written procedure expired, there was no official announcement from the Cypriot Presidency of the Council of the EU.

According to the Greens, the measures envisaged to protect European farmers are insufficient and have not been accepted by the farmers themselves. The parliamentary group clarifies that, following Friday’s vote, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa may travel to Paraguay for an official ceremony on January 12 to mark the agreement.

The Greens stated that the vote shows contempt for farmers and the European democratic process. It is a denial of democracy that will be costly for taxpayers, as they will have to bear the expenses (losses and compensation related to the negative impact of the agreement, for example regarding jobs or health), the statement said.

The parliamentary group also reported that it has asked the European Parliament President and the European Commission to express disapproval of the Cypriot EU Presidency for the provisional entry into force of the agreement prior to a vote by MEPs. A call has been made for the EP President to put to a vote a resolution requesting an opinion from the European Court of Justice on the compatibility of the agreement with the European Treaties.