Overview

• The European Commission adopted and presented the legal texts to EU governments and the European Parliament, launching ratification with the option to provisionally apply the commercial pillar.
• Brussels proposed interim trade agreements that could enter into force with a qualified‑majority Council vote and Parliament consent, avoiding national ratifications for the tariff elements.
• France welcomed reinforced protections for sensitive farm sectors as a step in the right direction and will study the texts, while Poland said no blocking minority exists and Italy still seeks guarantees.
• A separate EU legal act would operationalize safeguards by monitoring volumes, prices and market shares and enabling action at roughly 10% import surges or price drops, supported by a €6.3 billion farm crisis reserve.
• The deal would remove tariffs on about 91% of EU exports such as cars and machinery and expand Mercosur quotas including 99,000 tonnes of beef, with Brussels estimating €4 billion a year in tariff savings as NGOs question deforestation enforcement.