The contribution of the European Parliament to the European Union's policy of human rights in the Mediterranean

Abstract

The European Parliament has continuously expressed its interest and concern about human rights issues since the 1970s. It has seen its constitutional powers and political influence increasing constantly since its creation. Hence, the European Parliament can no longer be referred to as a talking shop. As the region of the Mediterranean has always been considered of great importance for the EU, comprehensive policies of partnership between the EU and the Mediterranean non member countries have been devised. The Barcelona Process and the European Neighbourhood Policy are the most ambitious policies of the Union towards the Mediterranean. The European Parliament has continuously emphasised the necessity of including conditions on democratisation and respect for human rights in all association agreements with the Mediterranean countries. It has also been very keen on the implementation and the monitoring of the human rights clause. The representative house of the EU has used all the means that are available to it in order to promote and strengthen the respect for human rights in Mediterranean non member countries. The objective of this dissertation is to illustrate the contribution of the European Parliament to the EU's policy of human rights in the Mediterranean.