Nothing to do. Once again, after 25 years of negotiations, the EU-Mercosur trade agreement has stalled. Just few days after the agreement was signed in Paraguay, on Saturday 17 January, by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, with Latin American partners, the European Parliament blocked the deal. This was done by approving – with a margin of only 10 votes – a request to refer the text to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for a legal opinion.
Eu-Mercosur, Parliamentary Block
In the middle of tensions triggered by Donald Trump’s renewed (but later retracted) threats of tariffs related to the Greenland issue, ongoing global economic and geopolitical shifts, and the need for new trade and business opportunities, the decision by the Strasbourg chamber weighs heavily.
The fast-track ratification of the agreement has been halted, now deferred to the longer timeframe of the CJEU in Luxembourg. The blockade was driven by a highly diverse front that crossed political groups from multiple Member States. As a result, only time will tell. The halt of the Eu-Mercosur agreement has elicited legitimate reactions in the wine sector as well.
Federvini: regret and concern
According to Federvini, the European Parliament’s vote risks slowing new opportunities for Italian exports. President Giacomo Ponti stated: “We acknowledge the European Parliament’s decision with institutional respect, but we cannot hide our regret and disorientation. The vote to refer the agreement to the Court of Justice, after over twenty years of negotiations, comes at a delicate global economic moment in which companies need certainty in international trade. The agreement with Mercosur represents a valuable development opportunity and an essential instrument for competitiveness. For this reason, we hope that dialogue among Parliament, Council, and Commission will swiftly overcome this impasse and allow the agreement’s implementation to proceed rapidly.”
Unione Italiana Vini: “A delay we cannot afford”
Unione Italiana Vini (Uiv), through President Lamberto Frescobaldi, expressed a clear position:
“Today’s European Parliament vote does not only harm businesses; it harms all of Europe. The vote is sacred, and Uiv fully respects the democratic outcome, but we cannot overlook how this decision exposes a divided Eu, at a historical moment marked by trade tensions, when maximum cohesion is required. The 10-vote margin in favour of referring the agreement, without provisional approval, would freeze the agreement for 18–20 months. A delay we cannot afford, particularly for Italian wine, which will close 2025 in the United States with an estimated 9% drop. As Minister Lollobrigida rightly noted, Mercosur is an advantageous agreement not only for industry but also for agriculture, strengthening the Italian agri-food system both in market terms and in defending our branded products.”
According to Uiv, for historical and cultural reasons, South America, with over 250 million consumers, represents a potentially receptive market for European and Italian wines. Currently, European wines exported to Brazil face tariffs of up to 27% for still wines and 35% for sparkling wines. The progressive elimination of these tariffs, as envisaged by the Partnership Agreement, could improve business competitiveness in a market that today, even due to tariffs, operates at low levels. Wine imports to Brazil currently reach nearly five hundred million euros annually, with Italian wines accounting for only forty million euros, roughly 8% of the total.
CEEV: “A missed opportunity”
The European Committee of Wine Companies (CEEV) expressed its disappointment over the European Parliament’s decision to request a legal opinion from the CJEU on the compatibility of the EU-Mercosur Agreement with EU Treaties. According to CEEV, this referral will delay ratification by 18–20 months, creating unnecessary uncertainty for companies. Last year alone, EU wine companies exporting to Mercosur markets faced duties exceeding forty-three million euros, excluding additional costs from bureaucracy, complex import procedures, and other non-tariff barriers, which continue to impede access to the promising Brazilian market. CEEV considers this vote a lost opportunity to move quickly toward the ratification of an agreement urgently needed by both the European Union and EU wine producers.
