Essay 22: Opportunities and Challenges of Interregionalism: The Case of the European Union-Mercosur Negotiation

This essay approaches the opportunities and challenges of interregionalism through the case of the European Union (EU)–Mercosur ( Mercado Común del Sur or Southern Common Market) negotiation. These blocs launched a negotiation in 1999 to form a bi-regional Association Agreement (AA), which 20 years later resulted in an agreement in principle on the Trade Pillar, followed by an equivalent deal on the Political Dialogue and Cooperation pillar a year later. However, since then, the agreement has not been formally concluded or ratified, as it has faced strong opposition, especially in Europe. To appease this opposition, from 2023, the European Commission (EC) and Mercosur renegotiated some of its content and reached a new technical agreement in December 2024. That said, the ratification is far from certain in the EU, as powerful actors within the European bloc still staunchly oppose the initiative.