BUENOS AIRES (AFP) — Argentina and Uruguay on Thursday ratified a massive trade deal with the European Union (EU) that has generated enthusiasm from Brasilia to Buenos Aires but sparked protests and a legal challenge in Europe.

Argentine senators voted 69-3 in favor of the agreement to create one of the world’s biggest free trade zones, sealing its adoption days after it passed the lower house.

Hours earlier, neighboring Uruguay was first out of the blocks to ratify the deal, which has been fiercely opposed by farmers in some EU countries.

It still requires approval from lawmakers in the European Parliament, which referred it to the EU’s top court within days of being inked in January.

The deal between the EU and the four founding members of the Mercosur bloc — Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay — was a quarter century in the making.

Argentine President Javier Milei, a free market champion, hailed the ratification of the accord.

“Openness = prosperity,” Milei wrote on X.

In a later statement he said the agreement was a chance to promote economic development and attract investment and expressed hope that Brazil and Paraguay would quickly adopt it also.

It eliminates tariffs on more than 90 percent of trade between the two blocs, which together account for 30 percent of global gross domestic product and more than 700 million consumers. The two sides have yet to agree on export quotas.

The South Americans have moved to quickly enshrine it in their legislation, in an apparent bid to pressure Brussels to follow suit.

In Brazil, the lower house of parliament backed it by a large majority on Wednesday.

The accord aims to boost EU exports of vehicles, machinery and wines and spirits. In return, South American producers of beef, sugar, rice, honey and soybeans gain easier access to one of the world’s largest economies.

Brussels can decide to implement it provisionally while waiting for the EU Court of Justice on its legality, but has not yet taken a decision on doing so.

South American countries in the meantime are ploughing ahead.