Luxembourg: Mercosur provisional application will continue after the Vice-President of the Court of Justice of the EU dismissed Poland’s request to suspend it on Tuesday 29 September 2026. The order, in case C-460/26R, leaves the EU-Mercosur trade agreement in force on a provisional basis while the court decides Poland’s annulment action on the merits.

Poland attacked a Council decision of January 2026 on the signature and provisional application of the agreement, listed as 2026/183. In May it filed an annulment action together with an application for interim measures. Warsaw argued that the decision infringes the Treaties, abuses powers and breaches the duty of sincere cooperation.

The Vice-President found that Poland had not shown serious and irreparable harm, which is the core test for interim relief. The order noted that agricultural imports from Mercosur countries could already enter the EU before the decision. Mercosur provisional application therefore did not create a new kind of exposure that justified an emergency stop.

The court also dealt with the argument about standards. It noted that Mercosur products are subject to food safety and health rules similar to those that apply to EU products. The absence of so-called mirror clauses, in its view, does not exempt Mercosur imports from EU rules.

Poland gave no specific evidence that EU farmers could not withstand competition or would cease operations. It also failed to show a sufficient probability of market disruption. The order points to Commission powers to protect farmers and food security, and to other market factors such as energy prices, fertiliser costs and competition from third countries.

The ruling does not decide whether the Council acted lawfully. It only means that Mercosur provisional application stays in place until judges examine the substance of Poland’s case. The report reviewed gives no date for that judgment, so legal uncertainty will persist for exporters and importers alike.

The political meaning is plain. Farm lobbies in several member states have fought the agreement, and Poland carried that fight to the courts. The order tells them that a general fear of competition is not enough to halt a trade deal, and that they must show concrete harm.

For traders, the practical message is to plan on the basis that Mercosur provisional application will run for now, while watching the main case. If the court later annuls the Council decision, the consequences would be difficult to predict. If it rejects Poland’s action, Mercosur provisional application will have cleared its biggest legal hurdle and settled into normal operation.