BRUSSELS, Jan 21 (KUNA) -- The European Parliament decided on Wednesday to refer the partnership agreement between the European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur to the European Court of Justice, in order to seek a legal opinion on its conformity with EU treaties.
The European Parliament voted by a majority to adopt a resolution calling on the Court to assess the legal framework of the partnership agreement between the two sides, with 334 Members voting in favour, 324 against, and 11 abstaining.
The Parliament rejected a second resolution that also called for a similar legal assessment, after it received the support of only 225 Members, while 402 voted against and 13 abstained.
In a statement, the Parliament explained that the European Court of Justice will review the legal basis of the partnership agreement, as well as the interim trade agreement, while Parliament will continue to examine the texts of the agreement pending the Court's legal opinion.
It added that only after the opinion of the European Court of Justice is issued will the European Parliament be able to vote on whether to grant its final consent to the agreement or reject it.
For its part, the European Commission expressed its "regret" over the European Parliament's decision to refer the agreement to the Court, considering the step to be legally unjustified.
European Commission trade spokesman Olof Gill told reporters in Brussels that "the questions raised by Parliament in this request are not justified, as the Commission has already addressed these issues in a very detailed and thorough manner previously." The EU signed the agreement last Saturday with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, with the aim of creating one of the world's largest free trade areas.
The agreement has faced strong opposition from European farmers' organisations, backed by France and several other countries, on the grounds that it could harm the European agricultural sector and increase unfair competition in the markets. (end) arn.hb