After 25 years of negotiation the Council of European Community adopted the signature of the trade agreement with the Mercosur countries.
Photo: EU Council
European Council greenlights signature of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement
According to a European Council press release of the 9th of January 2026, the agreements will require the consent of the European Parliament before they can be formally concluded by the Council. Ratification by all EU Member States will also be required for the EMPA to enter into force.
Once in force, the two agreements will establish a framework for political dialogue, cooperation and trade relations within a modernised and comprehensive partnership.
EU-Mercosur partnership agreement – EMPA
The EMPA brings together political dialogue, cooperation and comprehensive sectoral engagement under a single framework, the Council informs. It also includes a trade and investment pillar, which will become fully applicable once the agreement is concluded and enters into force.
These provisions are to strengthen cooperation in areas such as sustainable development, environment and climate action, digital transformation, human rights, mobility, counter-terrorism and crisis management. The political dialogue provisions will foster closer coordination on global challenges such as climate change, peacekeeping and migration.
This framework is also going to facilitate a robust exchange of best practices in issues ranging from governance to technology innovation. Furthermore, the EMPA reinforces EU-Mercosur coordination in multilateral fora and provides structured platforms for sectoral dialogue.
Under the decision adopted today, the EU will sign the agreement and apply large parts of the political and cooperation chapters on a provisional basis, pending completion of the ratification procedures, the Council says.
Interim trade agreement
The Interim Trade Agreement (iTA) reflects the trade and investment liberalisation pillar of the EMPA and is to function as a stand-alone agreement until the full EMPA enters into force. Its objective is to deliver the economic benefits of the negotiated trade commitments as early as possible.
According to the press release, the agreement offers tariff reductions and opens access to new markets for a wide range of goods and services. Key sectors such as agriculture, automotive, pharmaceuticals and chemicals will benefit from improved trade terms.
Additionally, it includes provisions for investment facilitation and the removal of barriers to cross-border trade in services, particularly in digital and financial services. Provisions on government procurement will allow EU companies to access public tendering processes in Mercosur countries.
The iTA falls within the EU’s exclusive competence and therefore does not require ratification by individual EU Member States. It will cease to apply once the EMPA enters into force, the Council notes.
Bilateral safeguards with a focus on agricultural products
In view of the ongoing legislative process on a dedicated Mercosur safeguards regulation, the Council decision introduces specific arrangements ensuring that the EU can rapidly address market disturbances arising from imports of sensitive agricultural products.
Until the permanent legislative framework is formally adopted following negotiations between the Council and the European Parliament, the Commission will be empowered to apply bilateral safeguard measures under the iTA for agricultural products, and enhanced monitoring requirements will apply to products subject to tariff-rate quotas. Member States may request the Commission to initiate safeguard investigations, and the Commission will be required to inform the Council in a complete and timely manner of any intended safeguard action.
These temporary arrangements ensure a high level of protection for EU farmers and agri-food sectors during the transition period.
Background
The deal with the Mercosur partners (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) will create the world's biggest free trade zone, covering a market of over 700 million consumers, the Council states. The EU is Mercosur’s second largest partner in trade in goods, accounting for almost 17 per cent of Mercosur’s total trade in 2024. In that year, the EU’s trade with Mercosur was worth over 111 billion euros: 55.2 billion euros in exports and 56 billion euros in imports, with the trade in goods between the two blocs growing by over 36 per cent from 2014. In 2023 (the most recent year for which there is available data), trade in services between the EU and Mercosur was worth over 42 billion euros.
Negotiations for an EU-Mercosur association agreement began in 1999. They were successfully concluded on the 6th December 2024 and resulted in two parallel, legally distinct instruments: the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement (EMPA), combining political dialogue, cooperation and trade pillars, and the interim Trade Agreement (iTA), containing the trade and investment commitments, designed to apply ahead of the EMPA’s entry into force.
On the 17th December 2025, the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the regulation on the EU-Mercosur bilateral safeguards. The agreement will have to be endorsed and adopted by both institutions before entering into application.
(EU-Council/wi)
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