Overview
- Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved the agreement, becoming the last founding Mercosur member to ratify and sending the text to President Santiago Peña for promulgation.
- With Paraguay’s vote, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay have all completed domestic approval, and Brazil’s Congress has formally promulgated the pact in a joint session.
- Provisional application requires a formal exchange of notes, with the EU sending a verbal note to Paraguay as depositary and each Mercosur country notifying the European Commission.
- Once those steps are completed, provisions can start to apply provisionally—reporting indicates from the first day of the second month after notification—while full entry into force awaits a TJUE opinion followed by European Parliament ratification.
- The deal covers a market of about 720 million people and a combined economy near $22 trillion, liberalizing most trade—including tariff-free access for over 90% of Mercosur exports—while EU officials prepare safeguard measures and a proposed €45 billion modernization fund amid sectoral resistance.