EU-Mercosur: MEPs demand a legal opinion on its conformity with the EU treaties

January 23, 2026 by European Union Leave a Comment

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament.

The European Parliament decided today to request the European Court of Justice to assess whether the EU-Mercosur agreement is in conformity with the EU treaties.

With 334 votes in favour, 324 against and 11 abstentions, the European Parliament adopted a resolution asking for a legal opinion from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the agreement. A second resolution also demanding a legal assessment was rejected with 225 votes for, 402 against and 13 abstentions.

Next steps

The legal basis of the EU-Mercosur partnership agreement (EMPA) and the interim trade agreement (iTA) will now be reviewed by the ECJ. The European Parliament will continue its examination of the texts, while awaiting the opinion of the EU Court. Only then, Parliament will be able to vote to grant consent (or not) to the Agreement.

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