The European Union will be “ready” to apply provisionally when these countries begin to ratify the treaty on their part, has assured the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in an attempt to clear up the doubts and misgivings that on the other side of the Atlantic has been caused by the vote in the European Parliament in favor of sending the text to the Court of the EU (CJEU), a maneuver widely considered to be dilatory.
“We will be ready when they are ready,” Von der Leyen declared at the end of an extraordinary meeting of EU leaders urgently convened on Thursday afternoon in Brussels to discuss “transatlantic relations” after the Greenland crisis. Although it was not on the main menu, the Mercosur agreement, which received the decisive push in Europe precisely in response to President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, was also discussed in the closed-door meeting organized by the president of the European Council. In this forum, several countries made clear their support for rapid implementation.
Among the leaders who have positioned themselves in favor of the immediate entry of the trade agreement with Mercosur has been the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez. He has defended “the implementation of trade alliances, starting with the immediate application, even if provisional, of the agreement signed with Mercosur.” The Spaniard has thus joined his voice with that of the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, who has not hesitated to criticize the European Parliament for its decision on Wednesday and demand the implementation of the trade pact as soon as possible. “But rest assured that they will not stop us. The agreement with Mercosur is fair and balanced. There is no alternative if we want greater growth in Europe,” said the German from the Davos Economic Forum, before boarding for Brussels.
Less forcefully, but along the same lines, the Prime Ministers of the Netherlands, Dick Schoof – “I think it should continue” – and the Austrian Prime Minister, Christian Stocker, have spoken out. The latter, despite voting against it in the Council a week ago, has indicated that it seems to him “a common practice.”
Technically, Von der Leyen did not again need the approval of the European Council, that is, the heads of State and Government of the Member States. It does require, however, that of the Council of the EU, which has already given it to it. That is what Costa has explained, that the Executives of the countries had already consented to this step last week, at the same time that they gave the Commission permission to sign the agreement, something that was done in a ceremony in Asunción, Paraguay, last Saturday.
Despite this, in the media appearance at dawn from Thursday to Friday, Costa publicly formalized this step: “I invite the Commission to use the Council’s decision to implement the provisional application of the Mercosur agreement,” he said before Von der Leyen. This phrase represents a clear endorsement.
There is a reason for this: Brussels is aware that the biggest obstacle is not legal, but political. On the one hand, he is aware of the growing impatience of the Mercosur countries, who are in favor of it coming into force as soon as possible. In fact, Paraguay plans to present the treaty next week before the Permanent Commission of Congress, while Argentina will debate it in extraordinary sessions in Parliament starting in February. In Brazil and Uruguay the will to quickly ratify the text is also maintained.
But political balance also depends on not provoking the wrath of the European Parliament, something that the Commission fears. Many members of the European Parliament have made it clear that they do not want the chamber to be bypassed on such an important issue. And with a vote—when it occurs—as tight as everyone agrees it will be in a chamber deeply divided around this trade agreement, the Commission cannot afford to lose a single bit of support by taking a hasty or misinterpreted step.
Costa’s “invitation” to Von der Leyen gives her firm, political support in this sense, which will allow the German to face her next task: ensuring that she does not further stir up the waters in the European Parliament. Community sources assure in this sense that the European Executive is willing to listen carefully to all parties and that the German in person will work with the political groups in the chamber to secure the greatest possible number of supports.
Furthermore, as she herself has recalled, despite the rush, there is not so much urgency: “We have not made a decision yet,” Von der Leyen explained, because it is not necessary yet. “A decision would only be needed when one or more Mercosur countries have completed their procedures,” he recalled. And that will not happen, Brussels estimates, before one or even two months. When it happens, yes, he has promised, the EU will do its part. That’s where that promise comes in that your partners will surely remind you in a few weeks: “We will be ready when they are ready.”
