The Sejm attacks the EU-Mercosur agreement. The House unanimously demands that the government challenge the treaty

On Friday, the Sejm adopted a resolution on appealing the Community agreement with the Mercosur countries to the Court of Justice of the EU. The Lower House requests the Council of Ministers to submit a complaint to the CJEU on behalf of Poland, regardless of the complaint filed by the European Parliament.

424 MPs voted unanimously to adopt the resolution.

“The Sejm of the Republic of Poland expresses serious concern about the procedure, content and expected economic and social effects of the trade agreement being prepared between the European Union and the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay). This agreement may lead to distortion of competition on the internal market of the European Union, in particular in the agricultural and processing sectors, and to the weakening of consumer protection and environmental standards in the European Union,” we read in the resolution.

The Sejm indicated that Member States may bring a complaint for the invalidation of an act of the European Union, alleging lack of competence, violation of essential procedural requirements, violation of the Treaties or any legal rule related to its application, or abuse of power.

“In connection with the above, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland requests the Council of Ministers to take action to prepare and submit a complaint to the Court of Justice of the European Union pursuant to Article 263 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union regarding a challenge to the acts of the Commission and the Council creating the basis for concluding a trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries,” the resolution stated.

The Parliamentary Agriculture Committee considered three draft resolutions: PSL and two by PiS MPs. In the vote, the Polish People's Party was selected as the leading project.

PiS MPs pressed for the adoption of a resolution by the Sejm that would oblige the Polish government to challenge the EU-Mercosur agreement. In their opinion, the complaint regarding the agreement filed by the European Parliament will be resolved by the CJEU “in the political interest” of the EC, which wants the agreement to enter into force.

January 17 this year representatives of the European Union and Mercosur countries signed a partnership agreement and an interim trade agreement. The majority of the EU Council agreed to this on January 9, with the opposition of Poland, France, Ireland, Hungary and Austria. The partnership agreement still needs to be ratified by all EU member states.

January 21 this year The European Parliament sent a request to examine its compliance with the EU treaties to the Court of Justice of the EU. This will delay the vote on the approval of the contract by at least a dozen or so months.

February 27 this year The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that the EC will begin the provisional application of the trade agreement with the Mercosur countries. Under the EU treaties, the agreement can only be fully concluded once the European Parliament has given its consent. The agreement was previously approved by the parliament of Uruguay and then Argentina.

The European Commission has already started the procedure for the temporary implementation of the trade agreement with Mercosur countries. It will probably come into force in May. (PAP)

awy/ fos/ mick/