Mediterranean Union

The ‘Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean' gives a new impulse to the Barcelona Process in at least three very important ways: by upgrading the political level of the EU's relationship with its Mediterranean partners; by providing for further co-ownership to our multilateral relations; and by making these relations more concrete and visible through additional regional and subregional projects, relevant for the citizens of the region, according to the Joint Declaration adopted at the Paris Summit for the Mediterranean (13 July). The Summit, co-chaired by French President and President of the European Council, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, brought together 43 European and Mediterranean States, the Community institutions and the regional organisations. The Heads of State and Government agreed on the creation of a co-presidency and decided that a joint secretariat will be established, with one of the co-presidents from the EU and the other from a Partner state. The Arab League shall be invited to the meetings. The Ministers of Foreign Affairs will finalise the modalities for the institutional set-up of the initiative during their next meeting in November. The new structures for the initiative should be fully operational before the end of 2008. Joint Declaration

The 20-page Declaration notes that this initiative will build on the Barcelona Declaration and its objectives of achieving peace, stability and security, as well as the acquis of the Barcelona Process. The leaders share the conviction that this initiative can play an important role in addressing common challenges facing the Euro-Med region, such as economic and social development; world food security crisis; degradation of the environment, including climate change and desertification, with the view of promoting sustainable development; energy; migration; terroris m and extremism; as well as promoting dialogue between cultures.

An Annex to the Declaration sets out the priority fields and key initiatives, which the future Secretariat is mandated to detail. These are:

·                     De-pollution of the Mediterranean.

·                     Maritime and Land Highways.

·                     Civil Protection.

·                     Alternative Energies: Mediterranean Solar Plan.

·                     Higher Education and Research, Euro-Mediterranean University.

·                     The Mediterranean Business Development Initiative.

According to the Declaration, the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean will be complementary to EU bilateral relations with the Partner countries, which will continue under existing policy frameworks such as the Association Agreements, the European Neighbourhood Policy action plans, and, in the case of Mauritania, the African Caribbean Pacific framework. The leaders underscored the importance of the active participation of civil society, local and regional authorities and the private sector.

How it will operate?

The leaders agreed to hold biennial summits, which will result in a political declaration and a short list of concrete regional projects. Annual Foreign Affairs Ministerial meetings will review progress in the implementation of the summit conclusions and prepare the next summit meetings, that should take place alternately in the EU and in Mediterranean partner countries.

The Euro-Med Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA) will be the legitimate parliamentary expression of the initiative and the Anna Lindh Euro-Med Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures will contribute to its cultural dimension.

EC President's address to the Paris Summit for the Mediterranean

Through the ‘Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean' we want to elevate our partnership to other, higher, levels, European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, said at the Paris Summit to launch the new initiative, attended by heads of state and government of the Euro-Med Partnership countries and other representatives. He said this will be done through concrete projects and by concentrating on priorities that are to the benefit of the citizens, outlining the four issues on which emphasis will be given. President Barroso assured that the EC is parti cipating in this effort with enthusiasm and determination.

Speech (FR only)

EP and EMPA President's address to the Summit for the Mediterranean

"Since 1995 the Barcelona Process has unquestionably achieved a certain prestige. Its attainments to date should not be disregarded; however the time is ripe to give the Process a new impetus," European Parliament and Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA) President, Hans-Gert Pöttering, told the "Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean" Summit (July 13). "Above all," he said, "our citizens should feel implicated in this cooperation process. If we put into place practical projects su ch as access to water, food and energy sources, the resultant benefits and direct effects on people's everyday lives will be immediately tangible."

The European Council has approved the principle of a Union for the Mediterranean, which will include the Member States of the EU and the non-EU Mediterranean coastal states.

André Azoulay is the archetypal princely adviser: diplomatic, discreet and politically adept. He is familiar with the corridors of power, not only in Morocco, but also on the international scene. Azoulay’s determination to bring together the people of the Mediterranean led to his appointment as President of the Anna Lindh foundation, a network which promotes dialogue among countries of the region. Being a Jewish adviser to the Muslim King of Morocco, he is uniquely positioned to press for the building of a Palestinian state which recognises the existence of Israel.

euronews: What do you think are the main strategies which have to be implemented with regard to the Mediterranean Union?

André Azoulay, Special Adviser to King Mohammed VI: The feeling that one side is granting something to the other must be replaced with a sense of parity. And once the technicians, the eurocrats and politicians have finished talking, you also have to think about the men and women you want to draw up the future. These men and women have to be committed ideologically, politically, culturally and socially.

euronews: The economic dimension is very important —business and trade — but in the end what is missing in Europe is a political dimension, even in the Maghreb.

Azoulay: I am less pessimistic than you are. On the contrary, I think right now, that we are in the process together of re-creating a new momentum for the Euro-Mediterranean. It is not a gimmick, a measure which would be a luxury for some people. It is a must. A political imperative, a human imperative. But it is also a chance for Europe, maybe through the Euro-Mediterranean, to re-discover an influence which has been partly lost with globalisation. Because when you speak of the Euro-Mediterranean, you can not erase, or obscure the most difficult issues which have confronted the international community. I am thinking mainly of this yet-to-be-created peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. I am thinking of the situation in Iraq, or Afghanistan — the wider picture anyway — which is also affected by very strong tensions between the great civilisation of the Islamic, Muslim Arab world, and the western world, the world of western Christianity.

euronews: You have almost always advocated the creation of a Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel. Do you think that time has come?

Azoulay: The whole world today recognises both the legitimacy and the absolute necessity to have a Palestinian state, which has re-discovered its identity, whose rights have been restored, but the world has not arrived at that point yet. And that is not because there is a conflict of religion; not because there are religious and political leaders who have, wrongly, wanted to channel our respective beliefs and religions. By that logic, we are all hostages to some kind of buyout, a takeover-bid for our spiritual domaine, for our private convictions. You know, whatever, Muslim, Jew, Christian, in the end we all answer to the same one up there. The way I was brought up in the town of Essaouira in southern Morocco as a Moroccan Jew, was to look out for my neighbour, and my neighbour was a was a Moroccan Muslim. Today, in my mind, he is a Palestinian, and this neighbour must benefit from all the same rights as me. So that is what I’m pushing for today — just as I did yesterday and as I will tomorrow — pushing for a Palestinian state. I am also fighting to protect my true beliefs, if not, it would not make sense.

euronews: When Pope Benedict visited France recently the question of a positive secularism was raised. What you just said reflects that concept a little, doesn’t it? What do you think about the idea of positive secularism?

Azoulay: I subscribe to it, but I think everyone among us must be driven by the will to do everything to ensure that these choices are not simply theories and rhetoric. We all have to apply them to our daily lives, and we must be committed to t