In an international environment increasingly characterized by geopolitical uncertainties and trade tensions, the partnership between the European Union and Mercosur, also known as the Southern Common Market, is a strategic response designed to promote a more open, inclusive and multilateral economic order.
The agreement, signed in December 2024 after a long negotiating process, is broad and ambitious in scope. It will have a cross-cutting impact at the economic, geopolitical, rule-making, and cultural levels. It is not restricted merely to freeing up trade; rather, it aims to strengthen and build upon a structured alliance between two areas of the world that share democratic values, respect for the fundamental rights, a commitment to environmental sustainability and the espousal of effective multilateralism. In this respect, the scope of the partnership extends well beyond the commercial sphere, acting as a pillar of a European-Latin American strategy based on convergent interests and deep cultural affinities.
The cultural dimension of the agreement is rooted in the existence of a community with shared languages and values that crosses the Atlantic and unites Rome, Lisbon and Caracas in a system of common reference points. However, there is a risk of this shared heritage failing to express its full potential if it does not translate into true and concrete integration, starting with stronger academic cooperation. It is essential, therefore, to promote structured programs for mobility, exchanges and cooperation between the universities, research centers and cultural institutions of the two regions and thus build an infrastructure of autonomous, coherent and lasting relationships.
In economic terms the agreement opens up an integrated market of about 700 million consumers, with a total gross domestic product of more than 20,000 billion dollars. This is an important opportunity for Italy, both for its industrial exports and for promoting and building on its areas of excellence in the agri-food sector. Notably, the agreement could help make up lost ground in areas where Europe’s economic presence has progressively shrunk, to the advantage of actors such as China. Suffice to consider that in strategic countries like Brazil the share of foreign trade arriving from Europe has fallen from 27% to 16% over the last 25 years.
More generally, the partnership could act as a driver for deeper industrial integration by fostering sustainable investments, strengthening the role of small and medium-sized businesses, and incentivizing the creation of transatlantic value chains. Far from being simply a revised version of 20th century globalization, the agreement is an innovative and adaptable instrument conceived to address the complexities of the 21st century.
From a legal perspective it develops the trade agreement model by introducing cutting-edge investment protection mechanisms – a necessary condition to ensure predictable and secure economic development. In addition to protecting investors, provisions are also envisaged to safeguard intellectual property, implement agreed environmental standards and create institutional cooperation instruments to ensure balanced governance and the correct implementation of the agreed clauses.
Today’s true challenge consists of making clear political choices with a view to ratifying and actually implementing the agreement. This means finding a balance between participating countries’ needs to open up while also safeguarding their domestic interests so as to ensure an orderly and sustainable transition to a new era in European-Latin American relations.
The future of the EU-Mercosur agreement will therefore be a decisive test bed for the coherence of the EU’s foreign and economic policy. In today’s competitive and unstable landscape, prompt decision-making is a crucial factor: inertia would lead to a further loss of strategic ground, to the benefit of global actors already active in the region. Coordinated action, however, underpinned by effective governance and rigorous checks and verification processes, would make it possible to build and strengthen a lasting partnership founded upon shared values, convergent interests, and a common vision for the future.