The Relationship between the European Union and the South Mediterranean Countries: An Incomplete partnership submitted to the union's interests and fears

Résumé du document

The Mediterranean area presents a particular structure. The Northern part of the region is composed of Western, developed countries belonging to the European Union, such as France, Spain, Italy and Greece. The Southern part is the African coast, including Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Syria and the Palestinian Authority. The basin has often been idealized as a place of unity and coherence, the two coasts being linked by a long past of cooperation, trade and cultural exchanges. However, the North and the South have evolved differently, and this is obvious today that there is no unity in the region. To the contrary, every Southern country of the area has been colonized by Northern countries during the 19th and 20th centuries, most of them belonging to the Northern Mediterranean (France, Portugal and Spain). After the fall of the Empires and the decolonization process, those Western countries, for moral but also commercial reasons, have developed particular relations with their ex-colonies.

Extraits

[...] The economic partnership driven by European protectionist strategies is then highly prejudicial to Mediterranean economies, and there won't be any improve as long as the Union keeps on considering its interests first, instead of looking for equal and balanced trade with the Mediterranean. Moreover, free circulation of people should be another aspect of the partnership, but the restrictive policy on immigration challenges the essence of the cooperation. New challenges for the EU: the immigration and the creation of a common foreign policy Immigration from the South as a threat to the European security A full-fledged partnership should involve a certain degree of freedom of circulation between the two areas. [...]

[...] and Youngs, R. (eds.) London: Frank Cass - Leveau, R. (2002) ‘France, Mediterranean and Europe: a space to be built' (in French) in Politique Etrangère , April 2002 pp. 1019-1032 - Lister, M. (1997) ‘Europe and the Mediterranean', in European Union and the South, London: Routledge - Pollet, K. (2000) EU and Migratory Pressure from the Mediterranean and Eastern Central Europe', in EUs enlargement and Mediterranean strategies, Marc Maresceau and Erwan Lannon (Eds.) New York: Palgrave - Tsoukalis, L (1977). [...]

[...] The democratization was seen as a means of tempering tensions inside North African and Middle Eastern states; engendering moderation between the different states within the region; and mitigating antagonism between the Mediterranean and Western Europe. Following the European strategy, a too strong demand for democratization would indeed require the demolition of authoritarian regimes such as the Algerian one, which would lead to ‘short-term' conflicts, and to a radicalization of the population that would turn to Islamist leaders to represent their discontentment. [...]

[...] The Barcelona Declaration written for the occasion declares that the nine South-Mediterranean countries belonging to the EMP have to sign clauses for commitment to democratic reforms, with an emphasis on the principal of political pluralism. However, the Declaration presents extensive timetables on economic liberalization reforms, but it doesn't give precise explanations of what are the changes to undertake in order to achieve political liberalization (Youngs, 2002). For example, the Declaration just says that the Nations have to “develop the rule of law and democracy in their political systems”, but it doesn't list the fundamental freedoms that have to be protected by them. [...]

[...] However, the North and the South have evolved differently, and this is obvious today that there is no unity in the region. To the contrary, every Southern country of the area has been colonized by Northern countries during the 19th and 20th centuries, most of them belonging to the Northern Mediterranean (France, Portugal and Spain). After the fall of the Empires and the decolonization process, those Western countries, for moral but also commercial reasons, have developed particular relations with their ex-colonies. [...]