"Vox party leader Santiago Abascal called for a national referendum on the EU-Mercosur agreement, slamming it as a ‘disaster’ and accusing EC President Ursula von der Leyen of having 'trampled and betrayed' European farmers and consumers. Abascal was speaking in the town of Guardo in the autonomous community of Castile and Leon on Saturday. “The Popular Party of Von der Leyen has consummated its crime against the Spanish countryside and against food sovereignty of Spain,” he declared. "Gradually, the food in our markets will be worse. And when the fierce competition has destroyed the livestock and agricultural farms in Spain, the food will end up being more expensive," he explained. “We commit to asking the Spanish people about Mercosur and having a national referendum on something that has been decided behind all of our backs and that is not only going to affect the producers, the men and women of the countryside, but also consumers all over Spain sooner rather than later,” Abascal continued. The opposition leader also criticised the government of Spanish President Pedro Sanchez, which supports the trade deal that removes 90 percent of tariffs on imports from South American countries, as one of ‘mafia, corruption, and brothels’. He also called on voters to back Vox to help address the 'migration invasion', which he said "has been imposed for many years by the Popular Party and the Socialist Party." The remarks come after President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced that 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 Court of Justice of the European Union earlier this year. 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 had been passed by a 'qualified majority' of EU nations earlier that month - a mechanism designed to take decisions on trade deals that lack unanimity. Huge protests have been seen from farmers across the European Union amid concerns about undercutting and a cheap influx of South American produce."