"European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the body would proceed with the 'provisional application' of the trade deal with the Mercosur bloc - in direct opposition to the EU Parliament, which voted to refer it to the top court earlier this year. "In January, the European Council empowered the Commission to provisionally apply the agreement as from the first ratification by one Mercosur country. I have said before: when they are ready, we are ready," she said. "Therefore, over the last weeks I have discussed this intensively with Member States and with members of the European Parliament. On that basis, the Commission will now proceed with provisional application." "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 added. The EU-Mercosur deal was plunged into chaos in January, as lawmakers voted by 334 to 324 to refer it to the bloc's top court - with the decision to 'request for opinion from the court of Justice' on the compatibility of the deal with the EU's policies. The deal itself was passed by a 'qualified majority' of EU nations earlier that month - a mechanism designed to take decisions on trade deals that lack unanimity. Austria, France, Hungary, Ireland, and Poland voted against it, and Belgium abstained. Huge protests have been seen from farmers amid concerns about undercutting and a cheap influx of South American produce. The European Commission said it 'deeply regretted' the parliament's vote, while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz demanded the deal go ahead regardless: "No more delays. The deal must now be implemented provisionally." The Mercosur deal is 25 years in the making, removing 90 per cent of tariffs with South American countries. "