In the present paper, our main objective is to emphasize the difference between the old and the new EU member states (EU-15  versus EU-12 or NMS ) as regards the dependence on the Internal Market in the field of trade in goods. Conversely, we are trying to find out which European countries are most outward oriented, starting from the hypothesis that there is a “trade split” between the EU-15 and the NMS, i.e. the former are more active extra-EU traders than the latter. In our research, we rely on Eurostat data and our approach is based on the qualitative analysis. In the second part of our paper, we focus on relations between the EU and Brazil, the Russian Federation, India and China (BRIC) – strategic partners of the EU – from the same point of view: the “trade split” between the EU-15 and NMS in relation with these countries (which group of countries dominates the bilateral flows and why?). Following this rationale, our paper is structured around two main parts and it represents an attempt to pave the way for further in-depth analyses of the EU-15 – EU-12 “trade split”.