BRUSSELS — A large group of European lawmakers is joining forces in a bid to derail efforts to get a long-awaited trade deal with Latin American countries over the finish line. 

The group — counting more than 100 MEPs — plans to propose a motion on Friday calling  for a resolution to ask the Court of Justice of the EU to assess whether the accord with the Mercosur trade bloc is compatible with the European treaties.

Should the resolution be adopted at the European Parliament’s next plenary session, from Nov. 24 to 27, it risks thwarting the European Commission’s bid to sign the deal before Christmas to create one of the largest free-trade areas in the world. Mercosur groups Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

The text would show that “it is still possible to work constructively across our groups,” said Belgian Green MEP Saskia Bricmont. 

“Beyond the sometimes divergent views on the pros and cons of the agreement with Mercosur, we must ensure that it is fully compatible with our European treaties,” she told POLITICO. 

If a majority of lawmakers supports the resolution, the Parliament would then have to wait until the court issues its opinion before it can vote to approve the agreement. That would risk delaying the process as judicial proceedings in Luxembourg are typically lengthy. 

Should the Court issue an opinion against the legality of the agreement, this would put the EU executive in an impossible spot, given how divisive the issue is across the bloc. While it might not crash the whole deal, any required amendments could easily delay the process by a year.

The lawmakers — spanning the EPP, S&D, Renew, the Greens and the Left group — want the Court of Justice to issue an opinion on a rebalancing mechanism baked into the deal. This provision, a first in EU trade agreements, foresees that either party can seek redress in the form of tariffs or quotas if they consider the other party has introduced a measure that “nullifies or substantially impairs” the benefits of the deal.

The MEPs also want the court to rule on the legal basis for splitting the deal’s trade and partnership sections. Such splits have been introduced to ensure that the main trade provisions can go through a streamlined ratification process that only requires the approval of the European Parliament — but not national or regional parliaments.

In addition, the lawmakers want the court to review whether the EU-Mercosur deal is compatible with the EU’s right to apply the so-called precautionary principle, fearing that it could weaken or override this principle when the EU tries to act on environmental or health risks. The principle foresees preventive action in the face of foreseeable environmental harms.

The signatories mostly come from countries that have traditionally opposed the behemoth deal — such as Poland, France, Belgium and Ireland. 

The EPP, the biggest group in the European Parliament, is represented by its Polish and French members, such as Krzysztof Hetman, Marta Wcisło and François-Xavier Bellamy, among others. Other MEPs include Renew’s Pascal Canfin and S&D’s Raphaël Glucksmann, as well as the Greens’ Majdouline Sbaï. 

The Parliament is also set to decide next week which of the trade and agriculture committees will lead work on the Commission’s proposal to introduce safeguards in case a surge of imports of sensitive agricultural produce hurts European markets. 

Camille Gijs and Antonia Zimmermann reported from Brussels, and Judith Chetrit from Paris. Max Griera Andreu and Koen Verhelst contributed to this report.