Amendments tabled by the Patriots for Europe (PfE) Group to the European Parliament's interim report on the EU-Mexico Strategic Partnership Agreement would remove the Paris Agreement as an essential element of the trade deal and demand a detailed impact assessment for the EU honey market. The two amendments, proposed on 1 July 2026 by PfE MEPs Enikő Győri, Thierry Mariani, Isabella Tovaglieri, Hermann Tertsch and Sebastian Kruis, target the report by rapporteurs Javi López (S&D) and Borja Giménez Larraz (EPP).
The most significant change, Amendment 15, deletes the original text that stresses the importance of including the Paris Agreement as an essential element in the Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) review. The PfE amendment removes this clause entirely, opposing the elevation of climate commitments to a core, enforceable condition of the trade deal. Amendment 14 inserts a new paragraph noting Mexico's status as the world's largest honey producer and criticising the European Commission's 2024 cumulative impact assessment for failing to analyse the specific effects of the agreement on the EU honey sector in sufficient detail. It calls for a dedicated assessment of the cumulative impact of honey imports from all trade partners.
The amendments are proposed at the committee stage and will be examined and voted on before the plenary establishes Parliament's position for negotiations with the Council. If adopted, the removal of the Paris Agreement clause would weaken the enforceability of climate commitments in the trade deal, potentially reducing pressure on Mexico to meet climate targets but also lowering the EU's leverage on environmental standards. The honey impact assessment would address protectionist concerns from EU beekeepers and honey producers, who fear competition from Mexico, the world's largest honey producer. However, it could delay ratification if the Commission must conduct a new study. The amendments reflect a cleavage between trade liberalisation and sectoral protection, as well as between environmental conditionality and trade flexibility. The Council and Commission will follow the plenary vote to determine the final negotiating mandate.