At the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 20, 2026, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, stated that “geopolitical shocks can and must serve as opportunity for Europe”.
Caught between an increasingly assertive China and an increasingly protectionist United States, the European Union (EU) intends to resist export restrictions, economic coercion, and tariffs by prioritizing “partnership instead of isolation.”
The implementation of the EU’s trade agenda is indeed accelerating with the conclusion this year of the agreements with Mercosur and India, as well as the completion of trade negotiations with Australia.
Often somewhat simplistically described as a “cows versus cars” agreement, the EU-Mercosur agreement was nonetheless the result of a long and arduous process. Initiated in 1999, then revived in 2019, negotiations were relaunched in 2024, leading to the conclusion of the agreement in January 2026. But criticism of the agreement did not fade away.
About the Author:
Marie Krpata is a Research Fellow at the Study Committee on Franco-German Relations (Cerfa) at the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri).