World leaders launch Union for the Mediterranean
2008-07-15
The Mediterranean union project proposed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy has become reality. At a summit meeting in Paris on Sunday, 43 leaders welcomed the creation of the new institution, intended to foster stronger relations in the region.
By Jamel Arfaoui and Mona Yahia for Magharebia in Tunis – 15/07/08
 [Getty Images] French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, co-chairs of the new Mediterranean Union, welcome Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to the founding summit in Paris. |
French President Nicolas Sarkozy formally announced the birth of the Union for the Mediterranean at a summit meeting on Paris on Sunday evening (July 13th), before 43 leaders from European Union and southern Mediterranean countries, as well as Mauritania and Jordan.
"For our future to be a future of security, justice and progress, we have to work very hard and do like the Europeans when they decided among themselves to end an era of wars and violence. We shall succeed together or fail together," Sarkozy set at the opening of the summit.
The French President will co-chair the rotating presidency of the first two-year session, together with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
The closing communiqué explains that the principle of co-chairmanship between a representative from the EU and a representative from the non-European Mediterranean countries "shall apply to summits and all ministerial meetings, as well as meetings of senior officials, the general secretariat, permanent joint committee and experts."
The parties also agreed to hold the summit of the new union every two years. These summits will be hosted alternately by a country from the EU and a non-EU Mediterranean country. Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of the new union will meet annually.
The summit did not produce a headquarters for the general secretariat – the decision will be made instead at the meeting of foreign ministers in November. Both Tunisia and Portugal have expressed willingness to host the headquarters.
The union aims to boost partnership in specific areas, such as the environment, scientific co-operation, civil protection, and immigration. In his speech before the summit, Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali stressed the need for co-operation with Europe in order to "promote the abilities of the more fragile Mediterranean countries to deal with climate change."
In preparation for the Sunday summit, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos paid official visits to Tunisia, Mauritania, Algeria, Morocco and Libya. During a press conference on Thursday, Moratinos voiced his hope that Libya would participate, saying he would "try to convey to [Libyan leader] Muammar al-Kadhafi the spirit and the goals of this important Mediterranean project."
Kadhafi did not attend the summit. Among his many concerns over the initiative: that the Mediterranean union will lead to the domination of the North over the South and consequently contribute to a possible rise in religious extremism.
Also absent from the summit was King Mohammed VI of Morocco, who was represented instead by Prince Moulay Rachid. Though the absence was attributed to scheduling and not politics, President Sarkozy called for reconciliation between Algeria and Morocco, urging them to overcome their differences and "build peace... for the benefit of our common Mediterranean region".
Tunisian parliamentarian Adil al-Shawish called the Mediterranean Union a "positive and welcome step", adding that he hopes the countries learn from setbacks encountered in the Barcelona Process.
Al-Shawish called for balanced and fair decision-making in the organisation, saying such a union could even contribute to ending the Middle East conflict.
The Paris summit ignored the petitions of human rights organisations which called on the leaders to put freedom and human rights on the agenda. The International Human Rights Federation (FIDH) sent a message to the summit on July 11th in which it accused the sponsors of the union of paying attention only to economic issues and "ignoring the aspirations of the region's peoples for freedom".
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Lihidheb Mohsen Posted 2008-07-16
Indeed, the economic issues, which the countries of the South will naturally suffer from and which the countries of the North will royally benefit from, should lead to plans for balancing our relations with effective, sustainable initiatives in favour of the natural and human environment. The countries of the South have as their fundamental preoccupation and priority problems such as drought, water provision, global warming, the leasing of strategic commodities, the irreversible tendency for our young people to emigrate to the North, the radicalisation of relations, the tidal wave of consumption destroying local production and so on. These problems also indirectly effect the North. And, if the North wants to sell its products and orient us to the universal concept of consumption, then it is going to be necessary that it make a big effort to invest in us so that we will have work and resources to consume. In this case, this union is welcome to participate in the wellbeing of our people and in a lasting and just peace between people.
حسن بوبكر مناش Posted 2008-07-17
Arab countries have nothing left to do but join the Euro-Mediterranean countries! It is as though geography is everything. In my opinion and in the opinion of every Arab person concerned about his kinsmen, the geographical factor has no great importance with our Arabic regimes. If geography, seas and rivers had any value, this value would have given a result to Arab relations. Geography or even religion is only separating Arabs. I mean by Arabs the inflated and overblown regimes. The citizen has some hope to unite ranks at least, but not unity or integration among our countries. But as times passes by, over half a century, it seems that separation is much better than joining each other. So that we can say oh Lord what a rest from God, my mind is no longer upset after it was upset and has suffered (excerpt from a song). What we expect today from our regimes is to boost up hostile attitudes to reach the level of harsh wars. Because after these wars, if they happen, these regimes will finally lose their raison d’être on this geography extended from the Atlantic to the Persian Gulf. We don’t say Arabian Gulf because we have neglected everything. Persians are our brothers in religion. If they are steady in their positions and raise our value a little in the face of the enemies, they deserve the Gulf, Arabic peninsula and even the collapsing countries of Al Sham. Arabs today, or the relics of Arabs, have lost any compass guiding them to progress, power and development. Time is moving fast while the wheel of their progress is slowing down. Their minds are invaded by the devil. The Arab League was set up in 1945. It has not made a single step forward in the right direction. It was followed by politicized Gulf and Maghreb bodies which hypnotized the publics for some time. They have filled our countries with empty slogans. Algeria and Morocco for example won’t, except with a miracle, make any step for the unity of the Arab Maghreb with acts not only words. With words we are brothers, one nation and one country. But in reality, the Moroccan nation has its own specificity which it cannot surpass. This is the same for the Algerian nation or Tunisian which have their specificities. But what are these specificities? No one can believe that there is a difference between Algerian Arabs and Arabs.
mohamed el djazairi Posted 2008-07-18
Ali Ben Haj - Who has appointed Sarkozy as spokesman of the presidency of the republic? Praise be to God who has warned against some tracks of the people of dissidence and hypocrisy. God the Almighty said "But you will see those in whose hearts is a disease hastening towards them, saying: We fear lest a calamity should befall us; but it may be that Allah will bring the victory or a punishment from Himself, so that they shall be regretting on account of what they hid in their souls". Peace and prayer be upon the most honourable prophet who considered following the methods of the Jews, Christians and Romans one of the signs of the end of life. "You will follow the methods of those who came before you inch by inch and foot by foot even if they go into a cave you will follow them. They asked: Are they the Jews and Christians? He said: who else but them". In another version, they asked, oh messenger of God, like Persians and the Romans? He replied: what of the people except them", peace be upon his family and companions who were merciful among themselves and harsh on the infidels. Many free Algerians felt shameful and disgraceful when the president of France Nicolas Sarkozy announced in the media a unique breaking statement in the history of diplomacy and relations between states that the Algerian president Bouteflika asked him to announce his joint decision personally in the summit of Paris on July 13, after months of hesitation. Many naive people thought Algeria would boycott the Summit of Paris which will lay the foundation stone of the establishment of the Mediterranean Union which includes the terrorist state Israel. The disgusting and hideous way in which the participation was announced made Sarkozy, who suffers internal problems and a decline in popularity, an official spokesman of the Algerian Democratic Popular Republic! Does diplomacy lift its manufacturer to this level of daring and hurt the feelings of the Algerian people? Haven't many Algerians expressed their opposition to former president Chirac? He made a speech in front of the president of Algeria in which he said that the president of France will be the best mediator for Algeria in international meetings. We all know that a mediator defends only an oppressed and unjustly treated party, a weak side who has no evidence, or a criminal who is prosecuted. However, no one replied to his reckless statement in Algeria of pride and dignity! The public opinion should know that we weren't expecting Algeria to boycott the summit of Paris. We declared in a statement on June 24, 2008 that "there is much evidence showing that Algeria will participate in the summit".
Anonymous Posted 2008-07-19
Who is going to finance this project? All the countries on the South Coast are poor, save Algeria, which has some money. But, I do not believe the Algerians are foolish enough to put the financing of the Union for the Mediterranean project on their backs.
gol Posted 2008-07-24
The project for the Union for the Mediterranean went to the trouble of breaking out of its shell like a bird that some demagogues demanded to fly!!! So, they want the conflicts to disappear as if by magic— the dictatorships to transform into democracies and so on. We need to sow something before we can harvest anything, and that goes for everyone besides those who believe that a genie is going to come out of Aladdin’s lamp and they can make wishes.
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