http://dx.doi.org/10.59704/1b383991de7d032e https://verfassungsblog.de/shot-itself-in-the-foot/ Has the European Parliament Shot Itself in the Foot? - The Prospected Legal Insights and Practical Impact of the Opinion Request on the EU-Mercosur Agreement Kübek, Gesa eng 2026-02-18 electronic resource text/html ddc:342 EMPA EU EU ITA Mercosur free trade agreement mixed agreements EU Verfassungsblog Verfassungsblog--2366-7044 CC BY-SA 4.0 After 25 years of negotiations, on 6 December 2024, the EU and four Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay – reached an EU-Mercosur Agreement. The geoeconomic importance of this Agreement cannot be understated. Against this background, it came as a surprise when a narrow majority in the EP, backed by far-right and far-left parties alike, on 21 January 2026, requested an opinion on its compatibility with EU law. By contesting the legality of the Agreement, the EP risks losing a formal say over the temporal application of the “trade part” of broader mixed agreements pending ratification in the Member States.