Mercosur: “Not understanding the seriousness of the situation” – vote triggers horror inside the Green get together | EUROtoday

The German Green MPs within the European Parliament are dealing with headwinds from their very own get together for his or her voting habits on the Mercosur commerce settlement. The German Greens’ MEPs largely voted in favor of getting the EU settlement with 4 South American international locations reviewed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ): eight voted in favor of the assessment, two towards, and one abstained.

The incontrovertible fact that the assessment is now happening is partly because of the German Greens: if that they had voted towards it, it could not have occurred.

Coordination with excessive forces

What is exceptional is the joint coordination with right-wing events. In earlier votes, the Greens had sharply criticized the European People’s Party (EPP), which additionally consists of the CDU and CSU, for voting collectively with the far-right. Likewise within the Bundestag, when the present chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz (CDU) accepted AfD votes within the Bundestag for calls for for a stricter migration coverage.

“The fact that some Greens, together with the AfD and the Left, are delaying the entry into force of the Mercosur agreement in the current political situation is politically stupid and instinctive,” mentioned the First Parliamentary Managing Director of the SPD parliamentary group, Dirk Wiese, to the “Rheinische Post”.

Despite all of the criticism of the Green MEPs, Green Party chief Felix Banaszak didn’t need to declare a case of a firewall towards the suitable. “The situation is complex. What Friedrich Merz did in the German Bundestag last year: He knew that in the end he would have the majority with the AfD. And he accepted that. In the European Parliament, as we saw in the vote and in many others, the majorities are often not entirely clear because the parliamentary groups do not vote together. Yesterday, European and French conservatives, i.e. those who are in the parliamentary group with the CDU/CSU, also voted for it. And how it turns out in the end, that “It’s not clear in many places,” said Banaszak in an interview with WELT TV.

Of course he was “not happy” about the result, Banaszak continued in the TV interview. “I very a lot remorse that such a vote took place and that this consequence was achieved. But it’s a must to acknowledge that the state of affairs within the European Parliament is totally different.” Now he hopes that all democratic parties will take this as an opportunity to think again “about the question of how to work together and how to maintain boundaries between themselves and the forces on the far right.” The Greens are available to discuss this at any time.

Banaszak, like his co-party leader Franziska Brantner, spoke out in another interview on “Deutschlandfunk” in favor of temporarily enacting the EU’s free trade agreement with the South American confederation of Mercosur despite an appeal to the ECJ. The German Greens in the European Parliament also want to support this.

Nervousness in the “super election year” – plain language from Özdemir

For the Greens in Germany, all of this comes at an inopportune time in a year with five state elections – the first of which in March in, of all places, the “car country” of Baden-Württemberg, where the Greens are in danger of losing their only prime ministerial post.

Their top candidate there, Cem Özdemir, reacted accordingly sharply. “Obviously too many nonetheless don’t perceive the seriousness of the state of affairs. European sovereignty should show itself in concrete motion, the time for affordable lip service is over,” he criticized on

Even the long-time Green Party member of the Bundestag, Jürgen Trittin, who, unlike Realo Özdemir, belongs to the left wing of the party, was horrified. “Without a compass,” he wrote on

North Rhine-Westphalia’s Economics Minister Mona Neubaur was also dissatisfied. “I regret that the European Parliament missed this opportunity,” said the Green politician. This also applies to the German Greens in the European Parliament.

Duration of the test unclear

The motion approved in the EU Parliament criticizes, among other things, the splitting of the agreement into two parts, only one of which requires ratification in the EU member states. It is said that this would bypass national parliaments. There are also fears that EU standards in consumer protection, the environment and animal welfare will be compromised.

It is unclear how long it will take for the judges of the European Court of Justice to present their assessment. There are no maximum deadlines.

Waiting for the ECJ opinion could significantly delay the ratification process of the agreement with the four Mercosur states Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. However, it could be applied provisionally beforehand if the EU Commission makes a corresponding decision. The agreement would create one of the world’s largest free trade zones with more than 700 million inhabitants, which can also be seen as a sign against US President Donald Trump’s protectionist tariff policy.

The Greens in particular always demand a “clear approach” when dealing with Trump and emphasize the need for new alliances. Union parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn (CDU) also recalled this on ARD Brennpunkt. “The Greens now must reply a couple of questions. You cannot be as rhetorically activist as you have got been in the previous few days after which, when issues turn out to be concrete, vote like that. Completely unacceptable.”