New regionalism in practice : a strategic partnership between European Union and Mercosur.

This thesis deals with the interregional relations between the European Union and Mercosur. It is approached as a single case study where the examined case is defined as "the strategic partnership between the European Union and Mercosur in the context of new regionalism". The thesis consists of three main chapters. The first chapter explains the phenomenon of new regionalism and interregionalism and deals with two theoretical approaches to regional integration - neofunctionalist and intergovernmental. The subject of the second chapter is the development of regional integration within Mercosur and the analysis of the relations between the EU and Mercosur from the early 1990's till present. The current negotiations between the two regions are aimed at the conclusion of the Association Agreement creating free trade area and consisting of three pillars: political dialogue, cooperation and trade. The negotiations were officially launched in 1999, later suspended in 2004 and re-launched at Madrid Summit in 2010. The thesis seeks to find out how the EU and Mercosur are motivated to sign the agreement and what are the main obstacles blocking the successful conclusion of the negotiation process. To this end, the third chapter analyzes the three pillars of the Association agreement under negotiation paying..