The EU’s top trade official is trying to reassure MEPs who are worried that the EU-Mercosur deal could be applied before the European Parliament has had a chance to vote on it, according to emails seen by Euractiv.

As Euractiv reported last week, the Council presidency withdrew a declaration pledging to wait for Parliament’s vote before the provisional application of the politically charged EU-Mercosur deal. The French government and several MEPs have labelled the move an anti-democratic push. However, other diplomats have argued that declarations vowing to wait for the Parliament are not standard practice.

Commission spokesperson Olof Gill confirmed on Monday that EU treaties allow for provisional implementation of the deal before Parliament’s consent. MEPs would still retain the power to vote on the conclusion of the agreement, with the vote expected in February or March, according to Parliament staffers.

Sabine Weyand, director-general of the European Commission’s DG TRADE, sent an email to MEPs on Monday, seen by Euractiv, explaining that the provisional application of the deal would not be automatic after it is officially signed in Paraguay on Saturday.

The German official said Mercosur countries would also need to have ratified the deal and notify the EU accordingly – a process that could take time.

“As ratification procedures happen to take time (and the EU is no exception), there is little point in speculating as to when such procedures, and resulting notifications, would be ready on the side of Mercosur,” Weyand wrote.

Weyand said she hoped to work with the Parliament for swift consent, “so that on the EU side we are ready to start applying the agreement as soon as one or all Mercosur signatory states have notified that they are in a position to do so.”

An “unintended” move

In an email from 25 November sent to the chair of the Parliament’s trade committee, Bernd Lange, and to Mercosur lead MEP, Gabriel Mato, seen by Euractiv, the official said it was “not the Commission’s intention,” to bypass the Parliament, as it would also “run against the spirit of the Framework Agreement and the Commissioner’s repeated commitments not to propose provisional application before consent.”

The framework agreement is a deal reached last year between Parliament and Commission to recalibrate the balance of powers between them – still to be fully ratified and implemented.

In the November email, Weyand said that, following the advice of the Council legal service, a provision allowing for quick implementation of the deal after signing had been added to the decision– although unintentionally, Weyand claimed.

“As a result of moving the provision to the draft Decision on signature, the revised wording might unintentionally open the door to a potential provisional application of the Interim Trade Agreement before the Parliament’s consent,” she wrote.

Weyand added that, after discussions and given the “sensitivity” of the Mercosur deal, the Council could amend the text to prevent provisional application on the EU side ahead of Parliament consent. Ultimately, the Council did not take up the changes and left the door open to provisional application.

Such quick implementation of the deal could become more relevant if MEPs succeed in approving a resolution requesting a legal opinion from the EU’s top court, a step that would pause the ratification process of the EU-Mercosur deal.

However, Bernd Lange, chair of the Parliament’s trade committee (INTA), told Euractiv that it is “crystal clear” that the Council and Commission will wait for Parliament before any provisional implementation.

*Alice Bergoend and Maria Simon Arboleas contributed reporting

This article has been updated to include comments from the Commission and Bernd Lange.

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