The EU's Foreign Trade Policy and its effect on Regional Integration

This book investigates a case of interregionalism, which has become a central concern in EU policy making. The EU relation to the South American regionalism project Mercosur is of special interest due to the failure of on-going negotiations regarding a free trade agreement between these two actors. Brazil, which is a rising power in the world and a hegemon in the region, is the only Mercosur member, which signed a strategic partnership with the EU. This tension between the interregional and bilateral level as a result of EU external trade policy will be analysed to evaluate its effect on Mercosur’s integration process.