Mercosur move a 'profoundly undemocratic step' - Flanagan
The decision of the European Commission to provisionally apply the EU-Mercosur agreement is "a profoundly undemocratic step", according to MEP Luke Ming Flanagan.
On Friday (February 27), EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the move after Argentina and Uruguay became the first Mercosur countries to ratify the controversial trade deal.
The agreement, which has been 25 years in the making, will create one of the world's biggest free trade zones, covering a market of over 700 million consumers.
The agreement can only be fully concluded once the European Parliament has given its consent.
Mercosur
Commenting on the development, Independent Midlands–North-West MEP Luke Ming Flanagan said:
"This means, one of the most contested trade deals in history will be applied before the EU Parliament gives its consent.
"This is profoundly undemocratic and against the will of the elected European Parliament," he said.
The parliament has referred the agreement to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
"Proceeding with provisional application would mean that, should the ECJ find the agreement incompatible with EU law, the commission would be forced to renegotiate the agreement before it could even be put to a final vote," Flanagan claimed.
Parliament
The MEP also said the provisional application of the deal undermines the parliament’s role as "a democratic check".
"Allowing provisional application before consent risks turning parliament’s role into a formality rather than a meaningful exercise of democratic oversight.
"Once an agreement is already producing legal and economic effects, the ability of parliament to withhold consent in practice is severely constrained.
"Once provisional application begins, the balance of power shifts decisively away from the European Parliament.
"Denying consent to an agreement that is already in force, even provisionally, becomes politically and diplomatically extremely difficult.
"This creates a fait accompli that pressures parliament to approve the agreement regardless of environmental or social concerns," he said.
MEP Flanagan added that accepting provisional application without prior parliamentary consent "risks normalising a practice that could be invoked for future agreements".
He also claimed that applying the deal provisionally, while its legality and final ratification remain uncertain, creates instability for businesses, public authorities, and third-country partners.
