The future of the EU-Mercosur free trade deal has been thrown into doubt by a European Parliament decision to refer the landmark deal to the courts, potentially holding up its ratification by two years. However, MEPs on Wednesday first voted to refer the trade agreement to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), to rule on whether it complies with EU treaties. Fine Gael MEP Sean Kelly criticised the push to refer the trade agreement to the courts. Ursula von der Leyen’s commission has the power to bring the trade agreement into force provisionally, before future sign off by MEPs. “Today is a good day, and hopefully will give momentum to the campaign to stop this rotten trade deal,” Sinn Féin’s MEP Lynn Boylan said.

Source: The Irish Times January 21, 2026 13:52 UTC