A majority in the European Parliament has passed a resolution calling for the free trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries to be referred to the European Court of Justice. This means that the ratification process for the agreement may be suspended.

A group of 145 Members of the European Parliament had requested the vote. They have doubts about the legal basis of the agreement. The European Commission decided to split the agreement into a trade section that can be implemented quickly and a more comprehensive partnership agreement.

This division could conflict with the 1999 negotiating directives and the 2018 European Council conclusions, which explicitly refer to a mixed agreement that also requires national ratification.

The adoption suspends the ratification process of the agreement until the European Court of Justice has made a decision. This could take anywhere from a few months to two years.