RISE OF BRICS: OPPORTUNITY OR THREAT FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION?

The term BRICS is no longer just a catchphrase coined around trade and international relations, it is a reality and it exists as a transcontinental foreign-policy actor and the European Union cannot longer ignore its influence on the global scale. This paper aims to analyze the opportunities and challenges in the international relations between the European Union and BRICS. The study puts into balance the EU - BRICS cooperation in terms of trade in goods and FDI flows between the two. As findings we state that EU should start talking in a collective manner, intensify trade and promote effective multilateralism in order to set strategic partnerships. On the other hand, the economic growth of BRICS defied the economic crisis in which the European Union has been sinking since 2007 and other major players shifted their attention from the EU towards the emergent markets - the United States of America. From this perspective, the BRICS are threatening the EU with major loses in the same way it offers opportunities - trade and FDI's - vital for any economy. Whether the EU can or cannot understand - the BRICS are the 'rock stars' of today's international economic arena - and the EU should cultivate its cooperation with them.