EU-MERCOSUR Interregionalism Diplomatic and Trade Relations

This book focuses on EU-MERCOSUR relations from a diplomatic and trade perspective against the background of the political agreement between the two in 2019. The authors take into consideration that EU-MERCOSUR cooperation developed during recent decades has tried, on the one hand, to build a strategic partnership to respond to the main challenges of international agendas and, on the other, to incorporate in Latin American countries the European new vision of transatlantic regionalism. Starting from a historical perspective of the development of interregionalism between the EU and MERCOSUR, the book goes on to study the geopolitical impacts of Brexit, stagnation of the EU-USA relationship, the COVID-19 pandemic, and of new geopolitical players in EU-LAC interregionalism. It discusses the legal institutional framework of the EU-MERCOSUR relations and provides a comparative view of features of MERCOSUR countries vis-à-vis the European Union. The book also analyses and provides a comprehensive overview of various aspects of interregional trade in the context of the 2019 agreement. Highly topical and authored by experts in this field, this book is of interest to a wide readership in the social sciences and economics: from political sociology to international relations, diplomacy studies and international trade.

- Introduction. - EU-LAC Interregionalism History: From a Diplomatic Perspective. - Geopolitical Aspects in EU-LAC Interregionalism. - The Historical and Legal Context of the European Union-MERCOSUR Relations. - Macroeconomic Analysis of the Characteristics of the Countries of MERCOSUR and Its Comparison with the European Union. - New Association Strategy in the MERCOSUR-European Union Relations. - The Current State of EU-MERCOSUR Trade Relations. - Key Factors of Foreign Direct Investment in the MERCOSUR of the European Union. - The Impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on Global Supply Chains. - Conclusion.

Mario Torres Jarrín, PhD, is Director of the Institute of European Studies and Human Rights at the Pontifical University of Salamanca, Spain. Among his previous appointments, he was Director of the European Institute of International Studies, Stockholm (Sweden), Researcher Associate and Adjunct Lecturer in Regionalism in Latin America at Friedrich Alexander University, Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany), Adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Romance Studies and Classics and Researcher Associate in the Institute of Latin American Studies, Stockholm University (Sweden). He was also Executive Secretary of the Consortium of Universities IBERO-EURO-AMERICA and Council Academic Member EU-LAC Academic Forum, Task Force Member in the T20/G20 Summits “The future of work and education for the digital age” and "The Multilateralism and Global Governance Future". Currently, he is Principal Investigator “EU Defenders-Reloading European Cultural Heritage” project financing by European Commission (2021-2023) and Academic Member of 4 Jean Monnet Research Projects: “The reconfiguration of the EU presence in Latin America” led by Friedrich Alexander University, Erlangen-Nuremberg (Germany); “Over the Atlantic. EU and Latin American Relations: Between Diplomacy and Paradiplomacy” led by University of Bologna (Italy); “Relations between the European Union and Latin America: Future scenarios in a changing world” led by Universidad de Concepcion (Chile); and Jean Monnet Module on International Private Law in the Research Center for International Private Law at Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil). He holds a PhD in History, a Master in European Union Studies, and a BA in Business Studies from the University of Salamanca (Spain). 

Lourdes Gabriela Daza Aramayo, PhD, is one of the three founders of the Anglo-American University, Prague, and from 2020 the Founder and Director of the LAC-Center (Latin American and the Caribbean Business and Studies Center) at this University. She holds an Ing. in political economics with specialization in analysis of socio-economic data, and a PhD in economic policy from the Prague University of Economics and Business. She specializes in relations between Latin America and the European Union. She was Executive Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at the Prague University of Economics and Business from 2008 until 2018. She was also a lecturer at the Department of Economics and International Relations at this university. She is a member of the Bi-Regional Academic Council, Permanent Academic Forum, Latin America and Caribbean–European Union.