Provisional application of Mercosur deal puts von der Leyen on collision course with EU lawmakers - snap analysis
The European Commission’s decision to provisionally apply the contested Mercosur trade deal is a bold move by Ursula von der Leyen that puts her on a collision course with the European Parliament.
Her decision comes after two countries in the Mercosur bloc of South American countries, Uruguay and Argentina, ratified the deal in their own parliaments.
But opponents to the deal, including France and Ireland, have already tried to stall the deal in the European Parliament by referring the deal to the European court of justice.
Trade is the competence of the European Commission but it is a risky political move to press ahead with a deal while it has not got the backing of the European Parliament.
The hope in the Commission will be that if they can now open up trade routes to Uruguay and Argentina and show growth in trade and diversifies supplies from China they could win the longer term political battle.
European Commission moves ahead with provisional application of contested Mercosur trade deal
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the EU will provisionally apply the contested EU-Mercosur free trade agreement.
Speaking from Brussels, she said that the European Council had last month empowered the commission to provisionally apply the agreement as soon as the first Mercosur country ratifies it, and as Uruguay and Argentina did that yesterday, the commission wants to move ahead with the plan.
“Provisional application is, by its nature, provisional; it is right there in the name. In line with the EU treaties the agreement can only be fully concluded once the European parliament has given its consent,” she said.
Last month, EU lawmakers referred the deal to the bloc’s top court amid continuing opposition to the deal from the agricultural sector and a number of countries, including France, Ireland and Poland.
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Ukraine shot down drone near Romanian border, Bucharest says
Ukraine shot down a drone close to the border with Romania during a Russian attack on Ukrainian port infrastructure early on Friday, Romania’s defence ministry said in comments reported by Reuters.
The ministry said in a statement that it had scrambled fighter jets to monitor the attack and that the drone was brought down 100 metres (110 yards) from the Romanian village of Chilia Veche, which lies across the Danube River from Ukraine.
Romania, which is a member of the European Union and Nato, shares a 650-km (400-mile) land border with Ukraine. Drones have breached its airspace and fragments of drones have fallen on its territory repeatedly since Russia began attacking Ukrainian ports across the Danube during its war in Ukraine.
Romania has legislation in place enabling it to shoot down drones during peacetime if lives or property are at risk, but has not yet made use of it, Reuters noted.
Denmark's Frederiksen in good spot ahead of March elections as campaign gets under way, new polls show
Fresh opinion polls ahead of Denmark’s 24 March parliamentary election showed prime minister Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democrats nearing a majority with left-wing parties, indicating an end to nearly four years of cross-partisan government, Reuters said.
Two surveys showed the left-leaning bloc led by Frederiksen winning 87-88 seats in Denmark’s 179-seat parliament, according to polls by Epinion and Megafon for broadcasters DR and TV2, just short of the 90 needed for a majority.
The right-leaning bloc led by defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen of the Liberal Party was projected to win 73 and 77 seats in the two polls.
Croatia offers to help resolve stand-off between Hungary and Ukraine
It’s six weeks until Hungary will go to the polls and Viktor Orbán increasingly battles for his political future as he faces a realistic prospect of being ousted after 16 years in power.
My colleagues Flora Garamvolgyi and Ashifa Kassam looked more closely at how Orbán uses Ukraine to mobilise his support amid worsening poll figures suggesting that he could lose power to the Tisza opposition party, led by Péter Magyar.
Hungary continues to block the EU’s €90bn loan to Ukraine and the 20th round of sanctions against Russia over the disrupted oil supply via the Druzbha pipeline. Ukraine says the interruption is caused by recent Russian strikes and the pipeline requires substantial repairs first, but Budapest continues to question these explanations.
But a new option for resolving the standoff seems to be emerging, with Croatia offering to carry deliveries via its Adria pipeline instead.
Croatian prime minister Andrej Plenković said the Adria pipeline can transport up to 15m tonnes of oil a year, enough to fully meet the needs of both Hungary and the other affected country, Slovakia.
But some observers worry whether it’s really just about oil deliveries or, perhaps, about a strong campaign theme for Orbán, which would give him less of an incentive to actually resolve the problem before 12 April?
Let’s see. It’s six weeks to go.
Morning opening: Russia, Ukraine agree on temporary ceasefire to repair lines to Zaporizhzhia plant
A local ceasefire around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine has been agreed, with the help of the International Atomic Energy Agency, to allow for necessary repairs of the backup power lines to the plant.
The IAEA has confirmed that a local arrangement has been reached to help the repair teams ensure the safety of the plant, with demining activities in the area ongoing to enable access.
Reuters noted that the plant, Europe’s largest, has been under Russian control since shortly after the start of the war in 2022. It is not currently producing electricity, and relies on external power to keep its nuclear material cool and avoid a catastrophic accident.
Russia and Ukraine have frequently accused each other of jeopardising safety at the plant by staging attacks nearby. The repairs are expected to last for at least a week, according to Russia.
The peace talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US are now expected to resume next month.
“We need to finalise everything achieved so far for real security guarantees and prepare a meeting at the leaders’ level. This is the format that can resolve many issues. At the end of the day, leaders decide key issues and when it comes to Russia … this is relevant even more than in other countries,” Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last night.
It’s Friday, 27 February 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
