The result of the vote of the ambassadors of the EU member states on the trade agreement with Mercosur was formally approved in a written procedure that ended on Friday afternoon. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenreceived a mandate to finalize the agreement in Paraguay.
The conclusion of the written procedure was announced on Friday before 6 p.m. by the Cypriot presidency; Cyprus took over the presidency of the EU Council from Denmark on January 1.
“After more than 25 years, today’s decisions represent a historic step forward in strengthening the EU’s strategic partnership with Mercosur,” said Cypriot Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry Michael Damianos.
“In times of growing global uncertainty, it is extremely important that we strengthen our political cooperation, deepen economic ties and uphold our shared commitment to sustainable development,” he emphasized.
According to Damianos, the agreement with Mercosur will open up new opportunities for businesses while at the same time providing solid safeguards for the most vulnerable EU sectors.
As an EU source reported earlier, Poland, France, Ireland, Hungary and Austria voted against the agreement, while Belgium abstained. A strengthened safeguard clause for the agreement was also adopted.
The consent of the capitals means that Commission President von der Leyen can travel to Paraguay to sign the agreement. Paraguay has held the presidency of the Mercosur bloc since the beginning of this year.
The trade agreement with the Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – introduces tariff preferences for certain agricultural products, including sensitive products: beef, poultry, dairy, sugar and ethanol. In return, the markets of these countries will open up to EU industrial goods such as cars, machinery and medicines.
On Friday, a safeguard clause for the agreement with Mercosur was also adopted in a strengthened version. It concerns a mechanism usually introduced into trade agreements. The clause for the agreement with Mercosur, regulated in a separate regulation, is intended to provide stronger guarantees.
The mechanism may lead to the suspension of tariff preferences for producers from Mercosur if there is a drop in prices of sensitive products in the EU or if too large a quantity of these products suddenly enters the market.
Ultimately, the mechanism will be triggered when prices of sensitive products in the Union such as beef, poultry or dairy fall by 5 percent, and not by 8 percent. The original Commission proposal envisaged triggering the mechanism after exceeding a threshold of 10 percent. (09.01.2026)
