Under the Shadow of 'Barcelona': From the EMP to the Union for the Mediterranean

After a long debate, the Union for the Mediterranean-UFM was endorsed at the 13 July 2008 Paris Summit of Heads of State and Government and later set on track by the 3-4 November 2008 Foreign ministers conference in Marseille. These two developments were the outcome of a series of key events and heated negotiations. While the Heads of State and Government, along with the Foreign Ministers, have clarified how the UFM dynamics will have to be managed, as well as the relative roles to be played by the actors in the Process, it seems that the initial March 13 2008 European Council was who clearly determined the substance of these dynamics – namely, to shift towards the UFM as the new framework for Euro-Mediterranean cooperation. Rather than merge the two frameworks, EMP policies will become integrated in the UFM. This report aims at providing a broad evaluation of the UFM, taking stock of the conclusions of the Paris Declaration and of the Marseille conference. After an introductory section, the report considers, in the first section, how the UFM and the EMP could be amalgamated in the framework of complementary relations and harmonisation vs. separation and competition. In the second section, the report will discuss the added value that can be attributed to the new Euro-Mediterranean policy – first, from an institutional-political perspective, then, from an economic viewpoint, and finally, from a security perspective. The third section is devoted to issues of compatibility. In the fourth and final section of the report, some conclusions and a set of policy recommendations are outlined.

Report jointly submitted by the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and the Groupement d'ètudes et de recherches sur la Méditerranée (GERM) in the framework of the EuroMeSCo project.