BUENOS AIRES, February 26. /TASS/. Uruguay's parliament was the first to ratify the free trade agreement between the South American Common Market (Mercosur) and the European Union, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

"On this historic day, after 25 years of negotiations, the Uruguayan Parliament approved the Mercosur-EU agreement. Thus, the Uruguayan Parliament became the first to approve an agreement with Mercosur," the ministry's social media page stated.

On January 17, a free trade agreement was signed between the European Union and Mercosur countries in Paraguay. The agreement was primarily supported by Germany and the North European countries, which are interested in reducing customs duties on automotive, chemical, and pharmaceutical products shipped from the EU to South America. However, Austria, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, and France oppose the agreement, not wanting cheap agricultural products from South America to freely enter the European market. On January 21, members of the European Parliament adopted a resolution supporting an appeal to the EU Court of Justice to determine whether the free trade agreement with Mercosur complies with EU standards.

Mercosur is the trade and economic association founded by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The trade volume between the EU and Mercosur is above 112 bln euro and the mutual imports and exports of the two associations are balanced.