The State of Play of the Union for the Mediterranean in the Euro-Med Context

The author examines problems related with the political identity of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), its relations with the EMP's Euro-Mediterranean "acquis" and the functioning of its institutions. While the UfM has been designed to give new momentum to the EU's cooperation with Mediterranean countries, results have hardly met ambitions so far. There is a lot the EU can do to increase the UfM profile: revise its institutional settings; create a parallel, but connected, multilateral dimension in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy; quickly implement large-scale regional projects; expand cooperation to agriculture; and scale back the ambition that the UfM can promote political solidarity in the short- to medium-term.

Background paper to the presentation at the "XXIX Information and Training Semninar for Euro-Med Diplomats", Malta, October 23, 2010.