Rethinking the Mediterranean Strategic Agenda in an Evolving Environment

The Mediterranean, therefore, has always been an area of natural interest of European countries, especially southern states, and vice versa. If we understand regionalism to mean a systematic approach used to influence one’s position on the international scene the Mediterranean became the historically first target of regionalism in practice and the region still retains a position of priority for all countries concern for a variety of reasons. Within the system of international relations, the Mediterranean represents a geopolitical as well as geoeconomic entity with typical characteristics of economic, political, cultural and religious nature. The strategic importance of the Mediterranean affects security issues and mutual coexistence, questions of natural resources, disproportionate

"This report was produced as part of the IEMed Survey of Experts and Actors on the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. Its main aim is to take stock of the developments and initiatives undertaken in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership since 2005, including the multilateral track of the European Neighbourhood Policy and the more recent Union for the Mediterranean, and provide the reader with a reference guide for the content of the Partnership. The diversity of the Euro-Mediterranean process is such that this review of Euro- Mediterranean activities and projects is certainly not exhaustive, but at least all major initiatives and developments are put together in a single report, so that it can be useful as a “primer for beginners” material. As the IEMed Survey of Experts and Actors on the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership shows clearly, many of the programmes and instruments of the Partnership, in particular the most recent and innovative ones, for instance in the framework of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument, are largely unknown even for experts in this area, so the report can be useful as a kind of quick reference thesaurus on the Euro- Mewditerranean Partnership for actors and experts."

2003

This Working Paper is published by the CEPS Middle East and Euro-Med Project. The project addresses issues of policy and strategy of the European Union in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the wider issues of EU relations with the countries of the Barcelona Process and the Arab world. Participants in the project include independent experts from the region and the European Union, as well as a core team at CEPS in Brussels led by Michael Emerson and Nathalie Tocci.

2002

This paper aims to analyse the EMP in two respects. The first is the way European security concerns led to initiatives towards the Mediterranean. I will compare the Euro-Med Partnership with the Global Mediterranean Policy adopted in the early 1970s to show that both exhibit a similar pattern, as captured by the framework suggested by Adler and Crawford. The EMP, however, has shown a recent interest in 'soft security' issues, especially after 9/11. The second respect is the type of values and norms enshrined in the EMP and the way that they are promoted by the EU. I will suggest that the EMP might resemble an EU model rather than a CSCE one. Moreover, the literature about persuasion might be relevant here, to highlight how values are transmitted to Mediterranean partners.

2002

UN Economic …, 2009

Europe and the Mediterranean countries are bound by history, geography and culture. At the crossroads of the European, African and Asian continents, the Mediterranean region 48 presents political and economic challenges that have recently relaunched the debate on Euro-Mediterranean integration and cooperation. The 26 littoral States share geographical features and a past that has been shaped by some of the greatest civilisations of the world. Despite such elements of unity, the Mare Nostrum has remained divided along two main fractures: "north-south" and "east-west". Global interdependence has not yet reached all Mediterranean States. While the northern shore enjoys strengthened political and economic integration, deep divisions characterize the relations of southern states. Democratic and rich, the north contrasts with the poverty and political turmoil of the south. The southern region is also plagued by a lack of infrastructure, a poorly-educated workforce and high unemployment. International and internal migration, terrorism, money laundering, organized crime, environmental degradation and human trafficking are but a few of the problems of the region. These impediments to the region's security and economic growth can neither be confronted independently nor be viewed in isolation from one another. Regional political cooperation failures have been attributed to non-convergent national interests, conflict in the Middle East and various geopolitical factors. Sector-based cooperation and integration, however, provides an opportunity to strengthen the economic governance of the entire region. 47 Katia Adamo is the former Special Assistant to the Secretary-General of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM); Paolo Garonna is Deputy Executive Secretary of UNECE. The paper has been written on the basis of Mr. Garonna' s presentation on "Economic Prospects and Challenges for Euro-Mediterranean Economic Cooperation" held in his capacity as representative of UNECE, as special guest and key speaker, at the meeting of the PAM Standing Committee for Economic, Social and Environmental Cooperation in Malta, 13-14 March 2008. 48 Hereafter, when referring to the Mediterranean or to the Mediterranean region, we are referring to the 26 littoral States or territories: Albania,

2015

Bridges and Barriers, 2019

Major changes marked the start of the 1990s, requiring a strengthening of relationships between Europe and the Mediterranean. Several factors caused awareness to be raised in Europe of the urgency of Mediterranean issues, and of the need to organise a Euro-Mediterranean area.