EU fast-tracks trade deal with South American bloc

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will start to “provisionally implement” a massive trade deal with the Mercosur bloc of nations in South America despite not having approval from European Parliament. “When they are ready, we are ready,” von der Leyen said on Friday. With backing from Europe leaders, she said she the commission would “provisionally apply the agreement” after Uruguay and Argentina ratified the EU-Mercosur trade deal on Thursday. The deal has been negotiated for a quarter-century among countries that are now home to more than 700 million people and account for a quarter of global gross domestic…