Foreword : Malta’s foreign policy agenda in a changing Mediterranean

Abstract

The changing socio-political realities in the Mediterranean that have resulted from the Jasmine Revolution have signalled the beginning of a new era, not only in the Arab countries involved in the uprisings but also the wider Euro-Mediterranean region. The grass-root revolutions particularly in neighbouring Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are producing a fundamental shift from the traditional geopolitical setting to a newly emerging political landscape. The Arab Spring has necessitated a change in the policy outlook undertaken by the European Union and its member states, and in this context, Malta has been at the forefront to advocate a more comprehensive approach to the countries of the Southern Mediterranean, whilst taking into account the respective sensitivities of the countries concerned.