The issue of the European Union entering into a free trade agreement with South Korea is likely to dominate the summit which is to be held in Brussels tomorrow.

The EU tried to broker an agreement at Foreign Minister level earlier this week, but Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi scuppered any chances of unanimity over the issue as he requested more time to consider the deal.

As a result, EU President Herman Van Rompuy has pushed the issue to the top of the agenda for discussion tomorrow. As usual, the summit will more than likely be dominated by an issue which was not originally on the agenda. The same happened last time round, when a routine summit became one of the most important in the union’s history in agreeing to the bailout of Greece.

But the issue could also be settled in a matter of minutes. Reports are suggesting that embattled and increasingly erratic and gaffe-prone Berlusconi is merely out to score points for grandiosity. In not agreeing to the deal at the first round, he could merely be posturing to gain politically at home. Italy believes that the free trade deal with South Korea could harm car manufacturer Fiat and has called for a six-month delay in implementation. Every other state is backing the deal and it is increasingly being seen as a way to drag Europe out of this very long period of stagnated growth and financial uncertainty that has been with us since late 2008. It is estimated that the agreement with South Korea could be worth €19.1 billion to the EU.

Approval of the agreement would see the scrapping of import barriers for South Korean cars into the EU market within three years for high and medium powered vehicles or five years for small cars which is Italy’s concern.

The overriding feeling in Brussels is that while Italy does not have much to gain from the deal, the rest of Europe has a lot to lose. Whatever the case may be, the issue is set to be right at the top of the agenda.

Van Rompuy is also expected to deliver his interim report which is likely to focus on the economic woes of Europe and the need for good economic governance.

Germany has expressed worry and already lobbied successfully for a watering down of the Basel III agreement, which is set to raise the capital ratio of bank reserves to seven per cent. The main cause of concern was for smaller regional savings banks, which the German government believes might struggle to raise capital. The issue might also be of relevance to Malta due to the small market in which they operate, hence making it difficult to raise capital.

Another issue which is bound to raise heckles is Slovakia’s refusal to pay out its share of the bailout to Greece. The Slovakian government is adamant that it will not pay out the money, arguing that the basic wage in Slovakia is about half that of Greece and its citizens are vehemently opposed to seeing their taxes go to a country which enjoys a much higher standard of living than its own.

Of course, other issues are bound to be raised, but it seems that the agenda has been set in stone – cross external border trading, economic governance and the state of the European economies. More than two years on, we are still getting to grips with the fallout.