* EU divisions could delay South Korea trade deal - envoys
* EU lawmakers fear South Korean car influx
* Final phase of talks to start Aug 27
By Juliane von Reppert-Bismarck
BRUSSELS, July 23 (Reuters) - Completion of a trade accord between the European Union and South Korea could be delayed because of differences between the European Parliament and national governments, EU diplomats and lawmakers say.
The executive European Commission, which negotiates trade deals on behalf of the 27-country bloc, initialled the free trade pact with South Korea last October but it requires the approval of the assembly to go into force.
In preparation for talks with parliament and Commission, EU ambassadors on Thursday instructed the negotiator for the European Council - which represents the governments - on their common position on questions about the EU's car sector and single market arising from the accord.
But they face what are likely to be difficult talks with the parliament at meetings scheduled for late August because of legislators' concerns that the agreement could flood the EU market with cars made in South Korea, EU diplomats say.
"We have unanimous agreement in Parliament. It is up to the European Council and Commission to clarify their positions to reach a compromise," parliament's lead negotiator, Pablo Zalba Bidegain, told Reuters.
Supporters of the free trade pact say it could be worth 100 billion euros ($128.8 billion) annually to both economies, but critics say it will be detrimental to the EU's auto sector.
The deal, which the Commission hopes will enter into force this year, is the most important to be negotiated between the EU and a third country since a deadlock in the Doha round of world trade talks spurred bilateral trade negotiations.
It will generate about 19 billion euros' worth of new exports for EU producers and 12 billion euros in goods for South Korean firms, the Commission says.
But it has to be ratified by the European Council, which groups national governments, and the parliament, which can amend or block trade policy under a treaty in force since December.
CONCERN OVER EU CAR MAKERS
Demands by parliament for changes to the trade pact have reignited debate over EU car makers.
Some lawmakers want to empower individual EU states or groups of countries to raise emergency tariffs against car imports in the event of a surge in imports, even if there is no agreement across the whole EU to do so.
National governments say such national or regional emergency safeguard duties could violate the EU's single market rules, which are intended to protect the free movement of goods, capital, labour and services.
"A regional safeguard on car imports is going to create the biggest struggle" between the parliament, the governments and the Commission, Bidegain said.
There are not yet any concrete proposals on cross-border car sales between EU countries with different tariffs, he said.
"Whether a Korean car that has been imported into Greece with no extra duties can then be sold to a European country where emergency tariffs are in place, that is a matter we have not yet discussed," he said.
Diplomats said EU national governments had also instructed their lead negotiator to reject any proposals that might be seen as a precedent for reducing the decision-making clout of small states and increasing the power of the assembly in trade policy.
A representative of EU governments will meet negotiators from the Commission and Bidegain on Aug. 27.
If the Commission, governments and assembly reach a compromise by September, the agreement with South Korea could be signed and completed soon afterwards, diplomats say. If not, talks between the three institutions could continue for months. ($1=.7766 Euro) (Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)