ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to discuss the unintended consequences of the establishment of EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership for political relations between the EU and MERCOSUR and for MERCOSUR integration. Although the Strategic Partnership offers an opportunity to deepen the political dialogue between the EU and Brazil, it has also fostered issues of fragmentation, rivalry and selectivity within MERCOSUR countries. They have seen the individualisation of EU relations with Brazil as a drawback for the progress of the political dimension of EU-MERCOSUR relations, recently limited to free trade negotiations. Therefore, this chapter argues that privileging relations with key regional actors – such as Brazil within MERCOSUR – may lead to unintended negative impacts to the support for regional integration initiatives, a key foreign policy goal for the EU. Drawing from the notion of unintended consequences, this chapter reflects upon how some bilateral initiatives might hinder the development of inter-regional projects previously set by the very same actors, creating inconsistencies in the external performance of the EU. Based on semi-structured interviews and inductive document analysis, this research aims to unveil these conflicting dynamics on EU-Brazil and EU-MERCOSUR relations, problematising EU-Latin America interregionalism, with particular focus on the Southern Cone.
