European Commission has provisionally put into effect the agreement with Mercosur

The European Union has begun “provisional application” of a free trade agreement with the countries of the South American bloc Mercosur.

This was announced by the President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen, the press service of the agency reports.

According to her, the “provisional application” became possible after the ratification of the agreement by two of the four countries of the bloc — Uruguay and Argentina. It is expected that Brazil and Paraguay will follow their example in the near future.

Von der Leyen recalled that in January the European Council authorized the EC to provisionally apply the agreement from the moment of the first ratification by one of the Mercosur countries.

“I have already said: when they are ready, we will be ready. That is why I have been intensively discussing this issue with the member states and members of the European Parliament in recent weeks,” the head of the EC said.

She specified that the agreement can only be fully implemented after approval by the European Parliament.

“The Commission will therefore continue to work closely with all EU institutions, member states and stakeholders to ensure a smooth and transparent process,” von der Leyen added.

Tags: EU