The Mercosur Agreement and the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program have entered into force on a provisional basis, bypassing the European Parliament.

Omissions

• The MEP conflates two distinct legal mechanisms: the Mercosur agreement is under provisional application pending full ratification (which does require EP consent), while SAFE is a definitive Council Regulation adopted under a legal basis that does not require the ordinary legislative procedure (likely Article 122 TFEU or similar emergency/defence provisions). Calling both 'provisional' is accurate only for Mercosur.
• The European Parliament is actively challenging the Mercosur provisional application before the Court of Justice of the European Union, meaning the bypass is contested and not necessarily final.
• SAFE was adopted under a specific Treaty legal basis for defence/security matters where the Council may act without full EP co-decision — this is a structural feature of the EU Treaties, not an ad hoc bypass.
• Some sources consulted were published after the session date of 2026-05-19, though their data describes periods before that date.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission – Taxation and Customs UnionProvisional Application of the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement Begins 1 May 2026. The EU notified Mercosur countries of the completion of its internal procedures, triggering provisional application.
• PrimaryEUR-Lex (Official Journal of the European Union)Council Regulation (EU) 2025/1106 of 27 May 2025 establishing the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) through the Reinforcement of the European Defence Industry Instrument. Adopted by the Council of the European Union.
• PrimaryEuropean Commission – Defence Industry and SpaceAdopted by the Council of the European Union on the 27th of May 2025, Security Action for Europe (SAFE) is the EU's new financial instrument designed to support Member States' defence industrial capabilities.
• SecondaryCEPS (Centre for European Policy Studies)On 1 May 2026, the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement (iTA) will provisionally come into force, marking a decisive – even if legally uncertain – step. The provisional application allows the trade pillar to take effect before all Member States and the European Parliament have ratified the agreement.
• SecondaryEuropean Parliament Think Tank (Epthinktank)For the agreement to enter into force, the European Parliament must vote on it. Parliament must either approve or reject the deal, but it cannot amend it.
• SecondaryReal Instituto ElcanoThe European Parliament's challenge to the EU-Mercosur agreement delays and introduces unpredictability on its parliamentary ratification. The EP has taken legal action before the CJEU against the Council's decision to provisionally apply the agreement without its consent.