BUSINESS CLIMATE AND EU-MERCOSUR AGREEMENT: MAIN CHALLENGES FOR BULGARIA AND BRAZIL Juliana Hadjitchoneva New Bulgarian University Daniel Moura da Costa Teixeira GETAF Management of Environmental and Forest Assets Abstract: The paper aims at analysing the business environments of Bulgaria and Brazil and highlighting the main challenges for their competitiveness as the trade and economic relations are expected to intensify after the recent signature of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Southern Common Market. The study is comparative and uses datasets of the Global Competitiveness Index. The chosen period is ten years (2007-2017) in order to draw out the intrinsic for both economies trends of development and potential. The most actual national performances as of 2018 have been also taken into consideration. The study is realized in the light of the EU-Mercosur Agreement, for which the leading perspectives are marked. Keywords: business environment, economic relations, trade, European Union, Mercosur