Sdělení

I would like to express our deep sadness at the devastating earthquake in Venezuela. Our thoughts are with all those who have lost loved ones, those who have been injured, and the many families whose lives have been disrupted.

I would also like to express our sincere solidarity with the people of Venezuela during this difficult time. We stand with the affected communities and commend the courage of first responders, medical teams, and volunteers working to provide relief and support. We hope for the swift recovery of those impacted and for continued support to reach all who need it.

The Interim Trade Agreement between the EU and the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) will start to be applied on a provisional basis on 1 May, 2026. The agreement will fully enter into force once the European Parliament has given its consent, which is a prerequisite for the Council to conclude the agreement. The European Parliament will only be able to vote on the consent once the European Court of Justice has delivered its opinion on the agreement's compatibility with the EU treaties, following the Parliament's decision to request such an opinion in January.

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· Additional guarantees for sensitive agricultural products such as beef and poultry

· Strict thresholds to trigger safeguards

· Commission will monitor the market and report every six months

MEPs backed extra safeguards on Tuesday to prevent harm to Europe's agriculture sector following trade liberalisation with Mercosur countries.

The new regulation, already informally agreed with EU member states, was adopted by 483 in favour and 102 against, with 67 abstentions.

It sets out how the EU could temporarily suspend tariff preferences envisaged in the EU-Mercosur trade deal on agricultural imports from the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay), if a surge in these imports harms EU producers.

Under the new rules, the Commission will launch an investigation into the need for protection measures when imports of sensitive agricultural products, including poultry, beef, eggs, citrus and sugar, increase by 5% on a three year average (below the 10% per year proposed by the Commission) and if, at the same time, import prices are 5% below the relevant domestic price.

An investigation may also be requested by a member state, or a natural or legal person representing the industry, or an association acting on behalf of the industry, in the event of a threat of serious injury to the industry concerned.

The European Parliament decided today to request the European Court of Justice to assess whether the EU-Mercosur agreement is in conformity with the EU treaties.

With 334 votes in favour, 324 against and 11 abstentions, the European Parliament adopted a resolution asking for a legal opinion from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the agreement. A second resolution also demanding a legal assessment was rejected with 225 votes for, 402 against and 13 abstentions.

Next steps

The legal basis of the EU-Mercosur partnership agreement (EMPA) and the interim trade agreement (iTA) will now be reviewed by the ECJ. The European Parliament will continue its examination of the texts, while awaiting the opinion of the EU Court. Only then, Parliament will be able to vote to grant consent (or not) to the Agreement.

On Wednesday, Parliament and Council negotiators informally agreed on measures to protect EU agriculture once the EU-Mercosur trade and partnership agreements are in place.

The draft regulation sets out how, in the context of the Mercosur trade agreement, the European Commission could decide to temporarily suspend tariff preferences on the import of certain agricultural products considered sensitive (such as poultry or beef) from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay if these imports are seen to be harming EU producers.

On Tuesday MEPs approved a safeguard clause for the EU-Mercosur agreement to prevent imports from Mercosur countries harming Europe's agriculture sector.

Parliament's position was adopted by 431 in favour, 161 against and 70 abstentions. Negotiations with the Council on the final form of the legislation will take place tomorrow, 17 December.

The draft regulation sets out how the EU could temporarily suspend tariff preferences on the import of certain agricultural products considered sensitive (such as poultry or beef) from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay if these imports are seen to be harming EU producers.

According to Parliament, the Commission should launch an investigation into the need for protection measures when imports of sensitive agricultural products increase by an average of 5% over a three-year period (compared to 10% per year in the Commission proposal). They also want speedier investigations (from six to three months generally, and from four to two months in case of sensitive products) so that safeguards can be introduced faster.

The International Trade Committee adopted its position on safeguard mechanisms for agricultural imports linked to the trade agreement with Mercosur countries.

The draft regulation, adopted with 27 votes in favour, 8 against and 7 abstentions, sets out how the EU can temporarily suspend tariff preferences on agricultural imports from Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) if these imports harm EU producers.

According to MEPs, the Commission should launch an investigation into the need for protection measures when imports of sensitive agricultural products (such as poultry or beef) increase by 5% on a three year average (compared to 10% per year in the original Commission proposal). They also want to reduce the duration of these investigations (from six to three months generally, and from four to two months in case of sensitive products) to introduce safeguards quicker. The committee also adopted an amendment saying that safeguards could take the form of a reciprocity obligation for Mercosur countries to apply EU production standards.

Seven MEPs, led by Committee on Foreign Affairs Chair David McAllister (EPP, Germany), will hold high-level discussions on the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement, which was concluded last December in Montevideo. The Foreign Affairs Committee is responsible for guiding the procedure whereby Parliament decides whether to consent to the political and cooperation aspects of this agreement. The findings from this visit will feed into the preparatory work for their report on that matter.

The delegation will meet with various parties in Uruguay and Argentina to exchange views on bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation, as well as on geopolitical issues, such as Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, and China's expanding influence in Latin America.

• Expand sanctions to Nicolás Maduro and his inner circle
• Venezuelan regime has no democratic legitimacy
• Unjustified arrest warrant issued for Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia must be revoked

The regime of Nicolas Maduro is illegitimate and his presidency constitutes an unlawful attempt to remain in power by force, MEPs say in a resolution adopted on Thursday.

Condemning in the strongest possible terms the usurpation of the presidency in Venezuela by Nicolas Maduro, MEPs commend the democratic opposition's resilience and the commitment of the Venezuelan people to democracy in the face of repression.

The European Parliament, who recognised Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate winner of the presidential election, says the Venezuelan regime has missed a key opportunity to respect the will of the people and ensure a transparent democratic transition of power.