Foreign‑policy politician Armin Laschet (CDU) sharply criticised the European Parliament’s decision to have the European Court of Justice review the Mercosur agreement. “The Europeans learned nothing from Donald Trump this week” he told the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (Friday edition). He accused the Parliament of displaying a basic inability to recognize what is happening globally, calling it evidence that Europe has no future.
Laschet argued that everyone must recognise the need for larger markets to achieve greater independence. “Not only did the German Greens-alongside the Left, far‑right and other parties-halt the Mercosur deal, but MPs from the EVP, the Socialists and the Liberals also failed to prevent its blockage” he said. “If the centre parties had voted together, this could have been avoided”.
He maintained that this outcome demonstrates to the world how incompetent Europe’s decision‑making process is. Laschet noted that what Trump said onstage in Davos had been confirmed by Strasbourg parliamentarians, adding, “We Europeans are unclear, unable to act, and do not grasp the world situation”. He warned that the gap between moral rhetoric and effective action in the EU is so vast that it can drive people to despair.
After 25 years of negotiations over the Mercosur agreement, Laschet called the effort to clarify the legal situation again an “intellectual imposition”. He said a complete failure of the already signed pact is not out of the question.