EU Mercosur Pact Stalled by National Politics, Delaying Ratification
The European Commission’s bid to prevent a freeze on the EU–Mercosur deal failed as the European Parliament voted to seek an opinion from the Court of Justice of the EU, delaying ratification for 18–24 months. The result exposed deep national-political fault lines across member states, with swing MEPs and farmers’ concerns driving departures from party lines, illustrating how domestic politics outweighed the Commission’s global-trade agenda.