Source : EU-Mercosur agreement may enter into force provisionally in March

Despite the European Parliament's decision to refer the EU to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), the EU's free trade agreement with South American countries is likely to enter into force provisionally in March.

The agreement is expected to be provisionally applied once it is ratified by the first country in the Mercosur bloc, an EU diplomat told Reuters. This is likely to be Paraguay in March.

The European Parliament decided on Wednesday to refer to the ECJ the EU's already signed trade agreement with the South American countries Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay for evaluation.

This agreement creates one of the largest free trade areas in the world, affecting more than 700 million people.

The agreement between the 27 EU Member States and Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay (MERCOSUR) is designed to strengthen trade between these economic blocs.

The negotiations, which began in 1999, have repeatedly stalled, partly because of fears among European farmers that they would have to comply with different standards.