The European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, has ruled that the European Commission showed “maladministration” in its decision on Wednesday 17 March to conclude negotiations on the trade agreement with Mercosur. In her view, the Commission should have waited for the finalisation of the sustainability impact assessment (SIA) of the agreement before taking it into account in its negotiations.
“Concluding a trade agreement before its potential impact has been fully assessed risks...