Extending the European Union’s borders to neighboring Mediterranean countries
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Written by Akli Hadid
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Tuesday, 09 October 2007
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 The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership or the Barcelona process resulted from the Euro-Mediterranean conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in Barcelona in November 1995. It aims to progressively integrate Southern Mediterranean countries to the European Union. How far will the EU go in integrating non-European countries?
 The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership or Barcelona Process includes a wide framework of political, economic and social relations between the Member States of the European Union and Partners of the Southern Mediterranean. It now has 37 members, which are the 27 EU member states, 9 other Mediterranean states which include Turkey among others, and the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Libya has an observer status since 1999. In the Barcelona Declaration issued after the establishment of the Barcelona process, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership established three main objectives: a political and security chapter which includes pacifying the zone, notably putting an end to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, an economic and financial chapter which would include the establishment of a free trade zone in the region and a social, cultural and human chapter which would encourage cultural and civil society exchanges. Enlargement of the EU beyond European borders? The enlargement of the EU to its neighboring Mediterranean states thus far seems to be out of the question. Analysts argue that the Euro-Mediterranean partnership was born from a misunderstanding. Indeed, the priority was to establish a peaceful Mediterranean region, since back in 1995 there was hope of peace and stability in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the appeasement of political tensions in the region. Yet the attacks of 9/11 changed everything for the Partnership. Not all share the pessimistic view that the Euro-Mediterranean partnership was a failure, since several bodies have been created, such as the Anna Lindh Foundation for Dialogue between Cultures, the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership and MEDA program, which is the financial instrument of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. However there were no concrete steps of regional cooperation or integration have been taken for a long time. Indeed, European countries and the European Union, notorious for their excessive bureaucracy, took what was considered by Mediterranean countries as too much time to ratify the Barcelona Process. Therefore, Southern Mediterranean countries somehow gave up the hopes of a successful comprehensive treaty, as the Partnership is still in its early stages. Yet, the countries took the initiative to construct a future Euro-Mediterranean free-trade zone by 2010. The initiative was taken by non-EU members of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. Though once potential French presidential candidate and politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn, in an article he published titled “What borders for Europe”, he says “That is why, personally, I have no doubt at all about the European future of Turkey. And, at a later stage, beyond Turkey, we will have to think about how to make it possible for countries from the ex-Soviet Union and countries from the Mediterranean basin, such as those in the Maghreb, to join our political area”. Therefore, there remains a possibility that the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership might end up being the opportunity for Southern Mediterranean states to join the European Union, or for the European Union to become some sort of Euro-Mediterranean Union. Yet, that might not happen before several years or decades, since even the entry of a country that is partly geographically in Europe seems to be problematic for many Europeans, that is, that of Turkey.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 09 October 2007 )
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Image de la semaine |
Non ce n'est pas une affiche de campagne en Turquie, mais bien celle du parti socialiste autrichien (SPÖ) pour les élections d'octobre prochain à Vienne. Après les affiches de campagne de Strache qui plaide pour le " pur sang viennois" c'est la course au populisme?
Wien-Wahl: Politiker sprechen türkisch: 200.000 Neoösterreicher Wähler haben Migrationshintergrund. Die Parteien buhlen um ihre Stimmen - gerne auch in einer Fremdsprache.( Kurier 25/08/2010)
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La deuxième rencontre du cycle
“LA DEMOCRATIE EN DANGER”,
consacrée à la Justice en Europe
Le lundi 13 septembre
de 19h30 à 22h00
Salons de l’Aveyron
17 Rue de l'Aubrac
75012 Paris
 A l’heure où les discours et les mesures sécuritaires et judiciaires se durcissent dans nombreux pays européens, où l’on sait les atteintes aux droits les plus élémentaires et aux principes fondamentaux des simples citoyens, quels traitements sont réservés à ceux qui tiennent les pouvoirs politiques, financiers, économiques entre leurs mains? Une conférence-débat organisée dans le cadre du cycle La démocratie en danger par Les Amis de Beppe Grillo à Paris et le NewropMag.
Intervenants: les députés européens Luigi De Magistris, Sonia Alfano et Rosario Crocetta ; Harald Greib, vice-président de Newropeans en charge des affaires des institutions européennes ; Eric Alt, magistrat, membre de l’association MEDEL (magistrats européens pour la démocratie et les libertés) et de l’association Anticor, et Corinne Lepage, députée européenne et ex Ministre de l’environnement, engagée dans la lutte contre la corruption politique et financière.
Parmi les sujets de discussion:
- L'infiltration des organisations criminelles et le vide législatif relatif en Europe
- Les récentes dépénalisations des crimes financiers et économiques en Italie, en France et leur traitement au sein des institutions européennes
- Présomption d'innocence ou de culpabilité? L'exemple de la “loi bâillon” sur les écoutes téléphoniques qui viole les recommandations de l’OSCE concernant l’emploi de sources et de matériels nécessaires aux investigations journalistiques au service de la démocratie.
Contacts:
Micaela Bracciaferri, Coordinatrice “Les Amis de Beppe Grillo à Paris »
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Marianne Ranke-Cormier, Rédactrice en chef du NewropMag
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