“That would be a crucial prerequisite, not only for the exchange of goods and services with these countries. It would also show that the European Union is capable of acting as a geopolitical factor,” Wadephul said at a meeting of German ambassadors in Berlin on Tuesday.

“Demonstrating this capacity to act has never been more urgent than it is now.”

His comments came as the European Union looks for new partnerships following the barrage of tariffs unleashed by US President Donald Trump.

Last week, the European Commission asked the 27 EU member states to sign off on two major, yet controversial, free trade deals with Latin American countries.

The EU’s negotiations with the Mercosur trade zone of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay were concluded in December after more than 25 years of talks, creating one of the world’s biggest free trade zones with 700 million inhabitants.

The agreement with Mercosur is aimed at increasing the EU’s annual export volume by up to €49 million ($57.1 billion) through cutting tariffs on products like cars, machinery and pharmaceuticals. In return, the four South American countries are to be allowed to sell more agricultural goods to the EU.

A separate deal with Mexico extends an existing agreement aimed at removing Mexican import barriers for EU agricultural products and allowing the bloc to import more critical raw materials from Mexico.

dpa