On Wednesday, the European Commission adopted the trade agreement with Mercosur. It also proposed an interim agreement, which must be approved by the European Parliament and EU member states. A safety brake mechanism has also been announced.
The decision to adopt the final text of the agreement, concluded in December 2024 with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, was made today by the College of Commissioners.
According to an EU source cited by the Polish Press Agency, several commissioners, including Poland’s Piotr Serafin and France’s Stéphane Séjourné, pushed for additional safeguards for farmers in connection with opening the EU market to agricultural products from the Mercosur bloc. As a result, the Commission made a political commitment to introduce a safety brake that will allow a response if too many sensitive agricultural products flow into the EU from Mercosur countries.
“EU businesses and the agri-food sector will immediately benefit from lower tariffs and lower costs, contributing to economic growth and job creation,” declared European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The Commission’s decision concludes a nine-month process of fine-tuning the legal aspects of the agreement and translating it into the EU’s national languages.
On Wednesday, the College also decided on the ratification path for the deal. Before the agreement as a whole is ratified by all member state parliaments, the Commission proposes an interim agreement covering its trade component. Adoption will require the approval of the European Parliament and member states in the EU Council. The Council will decide by qualified majority, meaning at least 15 states representing 65 percent of the EU population must vote in favor.
Will the safety brake work?
According to an EU source on Wednesday, the Commission’s commitment regarding the safety brake will later be transformed into a legal act adopted by the EU. It will include a market monitoring mechanism for the most sensitive products. Every six months, the Commission will inform member states and the European Parliament about developments in this market. If disruptions occur, it will respond.
The EU source also told journalists that the Commission sees the mechanism as an additional insurance policy addressing concerns of some member states. However, it expects that the import quotas written into the agreement for certain agricultural products from Mercosur to the EU provide sufficient protection for European agriculture.
An example is beef: tariffs on 99,000 tons of beef per year will be reduced to 7.5 percent. This represents 1.5 percent of EU beef consumption—“two hamburgers per person,” as an EU official put it. The allowed poultry volume will account for 1.3 percent of annual EU consumption. “This is a very small slice of the market we are opening. Moreover, this beef will not be tariff-free; the duty will only be reduced,” he said.
In addition, the Commission will allow possible compensations for farmers to be paid out of the agricultural reserve in the next budget period after 2027, which will amount to €6.3 billion.
On Wednesday, the Commission also adopted a new agreement with Mexico.