The expected publication of the Mercosur trade deal text next week will mean that the process for approving the deal is underway. After the deal was concluded last December, the text had to go through an administrative process of legal scrubbing and translation into member state languages.

That process is now complete and the text is ready for publication.

The first step of the approval process will be taken by the European Union Council of Ministers. There is still opposition to the deal among member states that could lead to a blocking minority in a Council vote. Denmark, which is for the Mercosur deal, will take over the EU presidency from the 1 July from Poland, which is more cautious about it.

Despite different levels of opposition in members states, the thinking is that the Council will give its approval and the ratification process will move into the European Parliament in the autumn.