From Mesco to EuroMeSCo

In 1994 the Institute contributed to set up the Mediterranean Study Commission (MeSCo), a network of Mediterranean people and institutions dealing with international and security affairs. After the inaugural meeting organised by the IAI in Rome in 1994, the Egyptian Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies (CPSS) organised the second meeting in Alexandria in 1995. The third meeting, organised by the Portuguese Institute of International and Strategic Studies (IEEI), was held in Sesimbra in June 1996.

In Sesimbra, so as to take into account the establishment of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership in the November 1995 Barcelona Conference, MeSCo was transformed into EuroMeSCo (Euro-Mediterranean Study Commission) under the initiative of the IAI and the IEEI.

EuroMeSCo activities 2001-2005
In 2001-2005 the IAI has contributed to four pubblications:

• The Future of the ENP in a Changing Context of Transatlantic and Regional Relations (in collaboration with Regional Center for Conflict Prevention of Amman), September 2005;
• Promoting Democracy in the EMP. Which Political Strategy?, November 2004;
• Common Languages on Democracy in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, May 2004;
• Working Group I - First Year Report: Security and Common Ground in the Euro-Med Partnership, June 2002

The last seminar of the working group, "Democracy and Security in the Barcellona Process. Past Experiences, Future Prospects", was held in Rome the 7-8 May 2004. For the first time since the creation of the working group, two US scholars attended the seminar thanks to the funding of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. The seminar proceedings are published in the English series of IAI Quaderni: R. Aliboni, R. Balfour, L. Guazzone, T. Schumacher, Democracy and Security: Past Experiences, Future Prospects, (IAI Quaderni, English Series, n. 5, November 2004).

On September 2005, EuroMeSCo has started a new cycle of activities to be concluded at the end of 2009.

In 2006 the IAI took part in two research projects:

• "Domestic politics and Conflict in the cases of Israel, Palestine and Lebanon", in collaboration with the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies of Beirut (IAI lead institute: D. Pioppi, N. Tocci);
• Ownership and Co-Ownership in Conflict Prevention within the Framework of the EMP, in collaboration with Regional Center for Conflict Prevention of Amman and Swedish Institute of International Affairs of Stockholm (IAI support institute: R. Aliboni).

The two projects mentioned above were discussed together with a third EuroMeSCo project (Regional security dialogue and cooperation in the South: exploring the neglected dymension of Barcelona JCSS-GERM) in the research seminar "Regional Security Challenges", which took place at IAI the 8th of June.

In the framework of 2006 EuroMeSCo activities, the IAI organised:

• the crisis management seminar After the Palestinian and Israeli Elections- Domestic Developments and Future Relations , 4 May, Jerusalem, in collaboration with the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs (PASSIA). The seminar was introduced by a questionnaire distributed to all participants in advance;
• the EuroMeSCo Survey "Conflict Prevention in the EMP", edited by R. Aliboni and Yasar Qatarneh (lead institute: IAI; partner institute: RCCP, Amman).

In 2007 the IAI took part in the following research project:

• "Domestic change and conflict in the Mediterranean: The cases of Hamas and Hezbollah", in collaboration with al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS) of Cairo (IAI lead institute: D. Pioppi e N. Tocci), published as EuroMeSco report No. 65, January 2008.

The IAI organised two events in Turin: a round table on "Trends in the Middle East and their Impact on the Euro-Mediterranean Area" (21 September) and a research seminar on Emerging Actors and Changing Societies in the Southern Mediterranean Area (22 September); both events were organised in collaboration with the Istituto Paralleli of Turin.

In 2008 IAI carried out the following activities:

• IAI, in cooperation with Orient Center for International Studies of Damasco , Foreign Policy Institute (FPI) of Ankara, and Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) of Berlin, have organized in Damasco the 15-17 May 2008 a seminar on "Capitalizing on Euro-Syrian Relations: from tensions to cooperation";
• Aliboni on behalf of IAI, with Leonard Davis Institute - University of Jerusalem, Centre d'études méditerranéennes et internationales of Tunis, and EuroMeSco Secretariat, has draw up the report Putting the Mediterranean Union in Perspective, published as EuroMeSco report No. 68, June 2008;
• IAI and EuroMeSCo have organized in Rome the 26-27 June 2008 the second preparatory conference in view of the 2008 annual EuroMeSCo conference, on "Security, Securitization and Reforms: Back to Integrative Partnership". Introductory remarks by R. Aliboni in Documenti IAI0815.

In 2009 - IAI has produced a report in cooperation with the Groupement d’Etudes et de Recherche sur la Méditerranée (GERM), Rabat:

Under the Shadow of 'Barcelona': From the EMP to the Union for the Mediterranean / R.Aliboni, Fouad M. Ammor (EuroMeSCO paper ; 77)