'Creating an area of shared prosperity' in the Euro-Mediterranean region : how near are we to achieving it?

Abstract

Since the very beginning of the European integration process, the European Union has had specific policies addressed to the Mediterranean arising from the many important links that bind the countries on both shores. These are not only cultural and historic, but also economic. Also Europe has an interest in the political stability of the zone - its geographical proximity means that what happens in the region has important repercussions on the other shore of the sea, with migratory flows and commercial exchanges spreading the effects of any kind of crisis or unrest. The first general EC policy towards the Mediterranean region came in 1972 with the establishment of the Global Mediterranean Policy, which was later converted to a Renewed Mediterranean Policy in 1992. In 1995, Spain, one of the most committed countries vis-à-vis the Mediterranean was mandated to prepare a meeting of all EU Member States and the 12 Mediterranean countries and despite divergent views during negotiations, the Barcelona conference took place on the 27th and 28th November 1995 inaugurating the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (also known as the Barcelona process) has been defined by the European Commission as a "multilateral .framework of relations establishing a comprehensive partnership which is the centrepiece of the EU's policy towards the region".