Members of the European Parliament voted to refer the agreement with Mercosur to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg on January 21, 2026. PASCAL BASTIEN / AP
Right up until the end, suspense remains high. Even the most seasoned experts in the European Parliament did not dare to make a prediction, as the vote was expected to be extremely close. Eventually, on Wednesday, January 21, just after 12:30 pm, members of the European Parliament referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union regarding the trade agreement between the European Union and the four founding Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay). There were 334 votes in favor, 324 against, and 11 abstentions.
It marks yet another twist for a free trade treaty that Europeans began negotiating more than 26 years ago, in 1999, and which seemed on the verge of coming into force. On January 17, on what she called a "historic" day, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen traveled to Asuncion (Paraguay) to sign the agreement on behalf of the 27 member states, alongside South American leaders. All that remained was ratification by the European Parliament – a prospect now thrown into doubt by Wednesday's vote.
