Ombudsman inquires into why Commission did not finalise sustainability assessment before Mercosur-EU trade agreement concluded

The Ombudsman has opened an inquiry into why the European Commission did not finalise an updated Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) before the conclusion of the Mercosur-EU trade agreement in June 2019.

The complainants - five civil society organisations - argue that by not taking this step the Commission disregarded its own guidelines on SIAs and breached the EU Treaty, which contains sustainability goals for all EU trade.