BRUSSELS (AP) — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday that she will start to “provisionally implement” a massive trade deal with the Mercosur bloc of nations in South America despite not having approval from European Parliament.
The trans-Atlantic trade deal is expected to create one of the world’s largest free trade zones covering more than 700 million people. Trade between the two tops 110 billion euro ($129 billion) and accounts for a quarter of global gross domestic product.
However, the deal has faced heavy criticism from Europe’s agriculture sector and environmentalists — and will likely tough resistance by elected representatives in the European Parliament.
For now, von der Leyen's move means she is basically sidestepping those lawmakers.
“When they are ready, we are ready,” von der Leyen said, referring to the EU lawmakers without whose approval the agreement cannot be concluded. With backing from Europe leaders, she said the Commission will “provisionally implement the agreement” after Uruguay and Argentina ratified the EU-Mercosur trade deal on Thursday.
French President Emmanuel Macron slammed the move in remarks to reporters in Paris.
″For France, it’s a surprise. A bad surprise," he said. "And for the European Parliament, it’s bad manners.″
Macron said he would work to make sure hard-won protections for farmers and health would be respected in the roll-out.
″We will be uncompromising on the respect for these rules," he said, including heightened surveillance of sensitive sectors, safeguard clauses, mirror clauses notably for pesticides, and tightened sanitary rules in third countries.
″I will never defend a deal that is lax on what we import and tough on what we produce at home, because that is inconsistent toward European consumers, and it is criminal for European sovereignty," Macron said.
The deal comes in the wake of global trade shocks from the tariffs imposed by the United States and the throttling of critical mineral supplies from China that pushed the 27-nation EU to forge a raft of free trade deals across the world.
Both Spain and Germany, backers of the trade deal, praised Leyen's move.
German's foreign minister Johann Wadephul said in a social media post that with Mercosur deal's implementation, “companies & people from both continents can finally benefit from more prosperity & growth. Germany will work tirelessly to help tap the full potential of this historic agreement.”
Carlos Cuerpo, Spain’s economy minister, said that “in an increasingly uncertain world, Europe cannot afford to fall behind. The Mercosur agreement is a major step in European Union’s roadmap to become more independent and resilient.”
Along with Macron's remarks, other critics were also swift to condemn von der Leyen's move.
“Applying the trade deal now, without the Court’s opinion and without MEPs’ consent, would trample over the democratic processes," said an open letter signed by 171 environmental, labor and agricultural groups in Europe and South America which called von der Leyen's provisional implementation a “democratic scandal.”
“At a time when many in our society feel sidelined and are losing faith in political processes, opting for provisional application would be profoundly anti-democratic and would risk inflaming tensions within EU countries as well as between them.”
Von der Leyen is likely to shrug off such criticism as she has in the past to advance a deal she describes as vital for the EU's survival in a newly disordered world.
“This is about resilience, this is about growth, and Europe shaping its own future," von der Leyen said at a news conference. No questions were allowed.
“Our businesses, our workers, and our citizens will reap the benefits, and they should reap them as soon as possible," she added. “Mercosur embodies the spirit in which Europe is acting on the global scene."
She also acknowledged that the “agreement can only be fully concluded once the European Parliament has given its consent” and said the commission would “continue closely with all EU institutions, member states, and stakeholders to ensure a smooth and transparent process.”
European lawmakers voted in January to challenge the deal at the European Court of Justice, which could delay it for years or even derail it.
Even without any obstacles from that court or the parliament, the deal could still take months for the deal to go into effect.
Associated Press writers Angela Charlton in Paris, Geir Moulson in Berlin, and Suman Naishadham in Madrid contributed to this report.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen prepares to address the audience during a high level event on the Eastern Border Regions Strategy at EU headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump just can’t seem to choose among friends in the Texas Senate Republican primary.
So when he travels to the state on Friday for his first post- State of the Union trip, where he plans to promote his energy and economic policies, Trump will have all three candidates in the competitive race join him — just days before his party casts ballots in the primary race.
Sen. John Cornyn is battling for his fifth term and is being challenged by state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt in a primary fight that has become viciously personal. And all three men, missing the coveted endorsement from Trump, have been trying to highlight their ties to him as they ramp up their campaigning ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
For his part, Trump will be seeking to ride the message of his State of the Union address from Tuesday, where he declared a return to economic prosperity and a more secure America — two centerpiece arguments for Republicans as they campaign to keep their congressional majorities this fall.
Trump’s hesitation to endorse in the Texas Senate primary speaks to the tricky dynamics of the race.
Cornyn is unpopular with a segment of Texas’ GOP base, in part for his early dismissiveness of Trump’s 2024 comeback campaign and for his role in authoring tougher restrictions on guns after the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. But Senate GOP leadership and allied groups see Cornyn as the stronger general election candidate, in light of a series of troubles that have shadowed Paxton.
Paxtonbeat impeachment on fraud charges in 2023, and has faced allegations of marital infidelity by his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, have urged Trump to endorse Cornyn. They and allied campaign groups argue that the seat would cost the party hundreds of millions more to defend with Paxton as the candidate.
“It is a strong possibility we cannot hold Texas if John Cornyn is not our nominee,” Scott told Fox News on Wednesday.
Hunt, a second-term Houston-area representative, was a later entry to the race, but claims a kinship with Trump, having endorsed him early in the 2024 race. Hunt campaigned regularly for Trump and earned a prime-time speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
If no candidate reaches 50% in Tuesday’s primary, the top two finishers will advance to a May 26 runoff.
Cornyn’s campaign and a half-dozen allied groups have poured more than $63 million into the race since last fall, chiefly trying to slow Paxton but recently attacking Hunt in an effort to keep him from making it to the runoff.
Earlier this month, Trump feinted toward weighing in on the race when he said he was taking “a serious look” at endorsing in the Texas primary. He has since reaffirmed his neutrality.
Still, you wouldn’t know it from watching TV in Texas. Cornyn has been airing ads since last year touting his support for Trump's agenda, even though his relationship with the president has been cool at times. Paxton and Hunt both have ads airing now featuring them standing with Trump.
“I like all three of them, actually. Those are the toughest races. They’ve all supported me. They’re all good. You’re supposed to pick one, so we’ll see what happens. But I support all three,” Trump said earlier this month.
The GOP battle comes as Democrats have a contested primary of their own in Texas between state Rep. James Talarico, a self-described policy wonk who regularly quotes the Bible, and progressive favorite U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
Trump hasn’t been shy about wading into other contested Republican primaries in the state. Parts of Corpus Christi fall within Texas’ 34th congressional district, where former Rep. Mayra Flores is fighting to reclaim her seat against the Trump-endorsed Eric Flores. (The two are not related.) The winner of the primary will face off against Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, long a target of the GOP, whose district was redrawn to make it easier for a Republican to win.
Eric Flores will be at the Trump event at the Port of Corpus Christi, which technically is located in a neighboring district.
Elsewhere in the state, the president has also endorsed Rep. Tony Gonzales, who is fighting calls from his own party to resign from Congress after reports of an alleged affair with a former staffer who later died after she set herself on fire. Gonzales is refusing to step down and has said that there will be “opportunities for all of the details and facts to come out” and that the stories about the situation do not represent “all the facts.”
Gonzales is facing a primary challenge from Brandon Herrera, a gun manufacturer and gun rights influencer who Gonzales defeated by fewer than 400 votes in their 2024 runoff. The White House did not return a request for comment on Thursday on whether Trump stands by his endorsement of Gonzales.
Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press writer Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.
U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, speaks at a campaign event, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, arrive before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, right, is joined by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, left, during a campaign stop in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, walk out of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, to travel to the U.S. Capitol where he will deliver the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
