2007: Countdown for the Mediterranean?

The decision of most of the heads of state of Arab nations not to attend the European/Mediterranean summit meeting in Barcelona at the end of November 2005 was a strong warning to the European Union of the difficulty it is going to have in establishing a clear policy vis-à-vis its southern neighbours and the distrust that this creates among them. Sébastien Abis, who specializes in the Mediterranean, assesses the current state of co-operation between Europe and countries bordering the Mediterranean, as well as how this might change in future.
After first describing the European-Mediterranean Partnership launched in Barcelona in 1995, he shows how slow the EU has been to honour many of the promises made then and how disillusioned the EU’s partners have become as a result. In addition to the changes in the geopolitical context that have occurred in the last ten years, he stresses the inherent problems of the Mediterranean basin and the inequalities that persist there. In conclusion, Sébastien Abis proposes five possible scenarios for the future of relations between the EU and its Mediterranean neighbours, ranging from deterioration to increased co-operation, although he fears that the trend towards stagnation or deterioration will prove to be predominant, given how little drive the EU puts into genuine assistance for the countries to the south.