Abstract
The EU-Mercosur negotiations have been traditionally assessed from the perspective of the governments. The aim of this article is to discuss the role of regional parliaments in these negotiations, which already have endured for over twenty years. The analysis verifies whether the existence of a regional parliament has amplified the discussions over the negotiations and has impacted the progress of the trade talks, taking into account the period between 1999 and 2017. The article analyzes the positions of parliamentarians with regard to: the proposals presented by each bloc; the degree of information on negotiations to which they have access; and the capacity of regional parliaments to influence the terms of the agreement. The objective was to verify the degree of involvement of regional parliaments in trade negotiations. We conclude that, although the two parliaments present distinct degrees of competence, in both cases autonomous performance regarding the governments, with a significant degree of political polarization with regards to the outcomes of the agreement and a strong demand for more transparent trade negotiations, was observed.
trade negotiations; European Union; Mercosur; European Parliament; Mercosur Parliament