Relations between the European Union and Mercosur were established soon after the entry into force of the latter bloc. European Union-Mercosur relations

Being both the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(EU) and the

Southern Common Market The Southern Common Market (commonly known by abbreviation ''Mercosur'' in Spanish language, Spanish and ''Mercosul'' in Portuguese language, Portuguese) is a South American trade bloc established by the Treaty of Asunción in 1991 and Protocol ...

(Mercosur) custom unions, their relation has been however described as "asymmetrical", both in terms of their contrasting stage of economic development and degree of institutionalization. The 'EU-Mercosur Inter-regional Framework for Co-operation Agreement' was signed on 15 December 1995 in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, dealing with trade, economics and information exchange between the two blocs. Despite the framework being a preliminary stage for trade liberalization, by 1998 most agricultural ministers in the EU member states still opposed starting negotiations with Mercosur. The framework fully entered into force on 1 July 1999. In June 2019, in the context of the

2019 G20 Osaka summit The 2019 G20 Osaka summit was the List of G20 summits, fourteenth meeting of the G20, held at the Intex Osaka, International Exhibition Center in Osaka. It was the first G20 summit hosted by Japan. Participating leaders File:Retrato oficial ...

, representatives of both blocs announced they had reached an "historic" agreement vis-à-vis a free trade treaty. If ratified, the European Union–Mercosur Free Trade Agreement should become the first free trade treaty signed by Mercosur with a major trade bloc, in this case the EU was at the time its biggest trade and investment partner.

References

Bibliography

* * European Union and third organisations Mercosur {{International-trade-stub