As a red, white, and blue-blooded American, one of the things that has fascinated me over the past few years while watching the European Union is their dogged determination to remain on their path toward a predetermined collectivism. The unelected elites in the ruling EU tiers in Brussels remain wedded to enforcing a progressive dogma on their captive hive, even as the results of many of their diktats and mandates have proven deleterious at best, if not downright disastrous in some instances.
The European Parliament, ostensibly a reflection of the member states’ citizens, has 720 members elected by their respective countries, but has often seemed only a rubber stamp for whatever new edict or rule the Brahmins want to enact, however counter to any opposition any individual country within the union might offer.
Members belong to the collective and have long since sacrificed their sovereignty to reap the benefits of belonging. European Commission President and ultimate Bond villainess Ursula von der Leyen constantly reinforces that ironclad requirement, with a gloved hand covering the iron fist that holds the purse strings.
There have been two consistent areas of conflict between the EU and some of its less malleable members. An ongoing battle has been between the agriculture sector and both the strident environmental restrictions farmers work within, and now the forced implementation of the reviled Mercosur free trade deal that Von der Leyen has sold her dark soul and Europe’s farmers to the devil for.
European Union says Mercosur free trade deal will start May 1, linking 700 million people
A landmark free trade deal between the European Union and four South American countries will begin on May 1 after more than a quarter-century of negotiations and new global economic uncertainty unleashed by tariffs, critical mineral controls and the war in Iran.
The European Commission said Monday that the start date for the EU-Mercosur free trade deal was triggered by Brussels receiving a “note verbale” from Paraguay that it had approved the deal, which is a key part of the 27-nation EU’s strategy to slash economic dependencies on China and the United States.
Parliaments in Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina have ratified the deal that links more than 700 million people and accounts for 25% of global gross domestic product. Bolivia, the newest Mercosur member, didn’t participate in negotiations but will be able to join the deal in the coming years.
Why do I say ‘forced’? Because in what had to be a nasty surprise for the Imperial Queen of Europe, her march to include South America in her influence web was nearly derailed by suddenly non-compliant members of the European Parliament (MEPs). That body, when tasked with voting to approve the agreement, threw the entire deal a curve by doing the exact opposite, much to the relieved and delighted approval of the opponents.
In an unprecedented move, the Parliament voted to send the entire Mercosur deal to the judiciary for a ruling on its fundamental legality. What they were asking the court to determine was, basically, do the terms of the agreement in the manner they are ‘split’ comply with treaties or infringe on the ‘balance between the EU and member states.’
The European Parliament halts the EU-MERCOSUR agreement in court: what is at stake
…One of the two central elements of the legal challenge is the so-called ‘splitting’ of the agreement. The European Commission, with the backing of the Council of the European Union, has chosen to divide the EU-MERCOSUR agreement into two separate legal instruments. On the one hand, a trade component of the agreement, considered to fall under the EU’s exclusive competence and therefore subject only to approval by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament. On the other hand, an Association Agreement that includes not only the trade component but also the political and cooperation components, which does require ratification by the national parliaments of the Member States.
MEPs who promoted the challenge argue that this division is legally questionable. From this perspective, the splitting would make it possible to bypass national parliamentary scrutiny over provisions with far-reaching effects in areas such as agriculture, the environment, health regulation or labour standards. Parliament is asking the CJEU to clarify whether this fragmentation complies with the Treaties or whether, on the contrary, it infringes the principle of conferral of competences and the balance between the EU and its Member States.
You would think, as an American suffering through every district court judge with an opinion shutting down the federal government twice a week and on Sunday, that this would be the end of it until the court issued a ruling.
Not in Ursula’s world.
She’ll only stop when the court tells her to. Parliament’s vote meant nothing to her.
…Fierce opposition by farmers and environmentalists delayed the deal in December. It then hit another snag after EU lawmakers voted to send the deal to the bloc’s judiciary. The EU executive responded by saying it would provisionally enact the deal — effectively sidestepping the European Parliament.
That means trade will begin in May and halt only if the European Court of Justice rules against it.
French President Emmanuel Macron called that move “a bad surprise.” France and Poland had led a campaign to halt or temper the deal with clauses protecting consumers and agricultural producers.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has shrugged off such criticism of a deal she describes as vital for the EU’s survival in a newly disordered world.
So much for the people’s voice, their ‘Democracy in Action’…
What is the European Parliament?
The European Parliament is the EU’s only directly-elected institution.
Its 720 Members are there to represent you.
…until the unelected European Commission president decides ‘democracy’ just got in the way and ignores them completely.
The other burning issue in Europe has been the inflow of millions of foreigners, accepting the bulk of whom has been forced on member states by the EU, with return rules denied and border security plans stymied by threats of funding cuts, even as the very national character of individual European countries began to erode under the burden of the incoming human tsunami.
Von der Leyen herself has been at the forefront of resisting calls for stemming the tide of incoming ‘migrants’ as they’re dubbed, be they boatloads from Africa or so-called ‘asylum seekers’ from Syria or elsewhere.
Three years ago, she joined newly elected Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the overwhelmed island of Lampedusa, as Meloni tried to impress upon the Empress that this level of incoming culturally incompatible humans could not continue. But the scene had been sanitised long before the women arrived, so the effect was lost on the visiting EC president.
It didn’t help that it was Olaf Scholz’s German non-government organisations (NGOs) scooping the ‘migrants’ up at sea and dumping them in Italy.
Meloni has been in a running battle with Brussels ever since, including trying to set up her own third-country holding sites in Albania for detaining illegals. Hungary, Poland, and others have come under severe threats and repercussions for defending their borders or not ‘accepting’ their allotted share of ‘migrants.’
This sort of disrespect and little regard for member states and the European Parliament itself make what happened this morning even more delicious.
There was a vote this morning that marks a sea change in the bloc’s direction. An almost 2-to-1 majority of MEPs (389 to 206) voted to greenlight the establishment of third-country detention centers for illegals, and actual detentions and deportations, not just the orders, are at long last on the table.
…Parliamentarians in Brussels voted 389 to 206 in favor of the reforms which pave the way for the establishment of migrant centers beyond the bloc’s borders to house migrants whose asylum applications are rejected.
Those who refuse to be relocated to the return hubs would face harsh penalties including detention and entry bans, according to the proposals.
Currently, only 20% of ‘ordered deportations’ actually go anywhere.
NEW: The European Parliament has voted in favor of progressing a stricter legal framework for the deportation of illegal migrants.
Migrants with a deportation order will be required to cooperate with the authorities to facilitate their return, and could be detained for up to two… pic.twitter.com/vvDPtgrg1B
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) March 26, 2026
…Migrants with a deportation order will be required to cooperate with the authorities to facilitate their return, and could be detained for up to two years if they refuse to cooperate or present a risk of absconding.
The vote gives the Parliament’s negotiating team the green light to commence talks with the European Council to reach a consensus.
“The era of deportations has begun,” said Swedish MEP Charlie @Weimers.
But what really has the Brahmins and the Leftists in Brussels freaking out is how this amazing result came about and who engineered such an astonishing policy shift.
Let’s just say there is no ‘firewall’ in the European Parliament stopping the people’s business from being done.
…The controversy surrounding the proposed legislation isn’t just limited to its content, but also to the political negotiations which have made it possible.
According to media reports, the wording of the draft law was agreed following WhatsApp and in-person negotiations between parties from the center-right European People’s Party Group (EPP), including German conservatives from Chancellor Friedrich Merz‘s Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavarian CSU, and far-right parties from the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) grouping such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
According to lawmaker Erik Marquardt, who sits in the European Parliament for Germany’s Green Party, the draft features 38 formulations which were proposed by the ESN group.
Marquardt warned against “making EU deportation policies dependent on a party [the AfD] which had been categorized by many as extreme-right due to its remigration fantasies.”
The Greens, the Left, and the S&D tried three separate times, based on violations of migrant rights, to have the proposals vetoed – all to no avail.
Amnesty International responded exactly how you would think they would.
Responding to the European Parliament’s vote on its position on the European Union (EU) Return Regulation today, Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office, said:
“Today the European Parliament has voted to expand the EU’s punitive and restrictive detention and deportation plans. This agreement – the result of a collaboration between the European People’s Party and political groups that support anti-migration policies – was rushed through negotiations without adequate scrutiny or meaningful human rights assessments.
“This marks a growing trend towards increasingly harmful, exclusionary, and draconian policies on migration, with worrying repercussions for due process and evidence-based policymaking. Far from reducing irregularity, these proposals risk trapping more people in precarious situations.
Probably bent out of shape at the thought of more NGO money being cut off.
WAAH
One young lady got some of the Lefty angst at the Parliament on video as they melted down over the vote, wailing and moaning for the poor, disenfranchised migrants.
Her pithy dialogue is NSFW but pretty illuminating.
THESE PEOPLE HERE ARE WHY WE HAVE TO SLEEP IN FEAR – SHAME ON THEM
I am in the European parliament and the Left is currently having a melt down.
History has been made.
The new EU Return Regulation proposed by AfD has just been passed.
Today we are one step closer towards remigration.
Keep crying. pic.twitter.com/04cgmao8VV
— Ada Lluch (@AdaLluch) March 26, 2026
As she says, it’s one step forward, but for Europe?
It’s a big foot forward on so many fronts. Not only rescinding and redrafting the awful 2008 legislation in unambiguous terms.
REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
establishing a common system for the return of third-country nationals staying illegally in the Union, and repealing Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directive 2001/40/EC and Council Decision 2004/191/EC
(1) The Union, in constituting an area of freedom, security and justice, should have an effective common policy on the return of third-country nationals with no right to stay in or enter the Union. An effective return policy is a key component of a credible migration management system and constitutes an essential element for combating illegal migration.
(2) This Regulation establishes a comprehensive common system for returning third-country nationals with no right to stay in or enter the Union based on a common procedure for return and readmission, effective cooperation with third countries, a system for the mutual recognition and enforcement of return decisions, a system for preventing and managing the risk of absconding and cooperation based on mutual trust between Member States.
(2a) This Regulation is aligned with the Treaty provisions according to which the Union shall respect the equality of Member States before the Treaties as well as their national identities, inherent in their fundamental political and constitutional structures, including regional and local self-government. It shall also respect the essential State functions of the Member States, in particular ensuring territorial integrity, maintaining law and order and safeguarding national security, which remains the sole responsibility of each Member State.
(3) To contribute to the implementation of the comprehensive approach set out in the Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 of the European Parliament and of the Council[3], a common system for effectively managing of the return of illegally staying third-country nationals should be put in place. That system should be based on integrated policy-making to ensure coherence and effectiveness of the actions and measures taken by the Union and its Member States acting within their respective competencies.
(4) The European Council has consistently underlined the importance for determined action at all levels to facilitate, increase and speed up returns from the European Union including by strengthening the link between the issuance of a return decision and the effective departure of the third-country national concerned. The European Council in October 2024 invited the Commission to submit a new legislative proposal, as a matter of urgency.
(5) The Strategic guidelines for legislative and operational planning within the area of freedom, security and justice adopted by the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 12 December 2024 recall that a successful return policy is a fundamental pillar of a comprehensive and credible Union asylum and migration system. To this end, the strategic guidelines call for the development and implementation of a more assertive and comprehensive approach to returns, by upgrading the legal framework as a matter of urgency.
(6) An effective return policy should ensure coherence with and contribute to the integrity of the Pact on Migration and Asylum and contribute to preventing illegal immigration to the Union and ▌unauthorised movements between Member States of illegally staying third-country nationals to safeguard the area without internal border controls while respecting fundamental rights….
But watching what the hierarchy does now that the marker has been laid on the table by a majority of Parliament, with the inclusion of populist parties.
Wow.
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