EU chief survives no-confidence vote over EU-Mercosur trade deal

BRUSSELS, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday survived a no-confidence vote in the European Parliament concerning the signing of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.

The motion, which required a two-thirds majority to pass, was rejected with 390 votes against, 165 in favor and 10 abstentions.

The free trade deal between the European Union (EU) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) was signed on Saturday in Asuncion, Paraguay.

The lawmakers accused the agreement of ignoring the opposition of national parliaments, the European Parliament and European farmers. They also faulted von der Leyen for failing to respond to the EU's most urgent challenges, including the decline of agriculture and rural areas and the deterioration of food security.

In a debate on Monday, EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic emphasized that the deal "sends a compelling message to the world" in the face of potential additional U.S. tariffs. "We choose multilateralism over unilateralism, and mutual benefit over one-sided gains," he said. Enditem