The European Commission has begun the formal procedure that could allow the European Union’s long-negotiated trade agreement with the South American bloc Mercosur to enter provisional force as early as May.
According to the Commission, the institution’s College of Commissioners has endorsed the procedural measures required to advance the process. Deputy chief spokesperson Olof Gill said the decision clears the way for the remaining legal steps needed before the arrangement can temporarily take effect.
The next stage involves Brussels sending an official diplomatic communication to Paraguay, which acts as the custodian of Mercosur’s treaties. Once this exchange of notes between the two sides is completed, the agreement may begin provisional application on the first day of the second month following that exchange.
While Gill said the precise date could not yet be confirmed, officials expect the formal correspondence to occur in March, a timetable that could enable tariff reductions between the two blocs to start in May.
The initiative follows an announcement at the end of February by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that the EU would proceed with provisional implementation of the deal with Mercosur, whose members include Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Negotiations over the pact have stretched for more than a quarter of a century and, once fully in place, the arrangement would create a free-trade area encompassing roughly 720 million people.
The decision to move forward before full ratification has drawn criticism from several quarters. Opponents argue that applying the agreement in advance effectively sidesteps the complete approval process within the EU. Earlier this year the European Parliament referred the deal to the Court of Justice of the European Union for legal examination, a move expected to delay final ratification by up to two years.
Despite these objections, EU member states authorised the Commission in January to proceed with provisional steps. Governments led by France and Poland attempted to block the agreement but were unable to assemble the qualified minority required to halt the initiative.
Von der Leyen subsequently travelled to Paraguay to sign the agreement, after which Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil completed their own ratification procedures.
Under the interim arrangements that would come into force first, Mercosur countries would remove tariffs on more than ninety per cent of EU exports. Some duties would disappear immediately, while others would be phased out gradually, including those applied to automobiles.
The Commission estimates that the measures could save European exporters around €4 billion annually.
The provisional framework would remain in place until the agreement completes the full ratification process on both sides. Once that occurs, it would be replaced by a broader and more comprehensive trade and investment accord governing economic relations between the European Union and Mercosur.
