Euro-Mediterranean partnership

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
States of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (red)

The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EUROMED) describes the foundation of the institutionalized relationship between the European Union (EU) and its neighboring countries in the southern Mediterranean in the form of trade, cooperation or Euro-Mediterranean agreements. The Euro-Mediterranean partnership was launched at the Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Foreign Ministers of the EU and the partner countries in Barcelona in 1995, which is why it is often referred to as the Barcelona Process . In March 2004 the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly was constituted as a permanent parliamentary control body . Since 2004, the Euro-Mediterranean partnership has been supplemented by the instruments of the European Neighborhood Policy . In 1995, the Mediterranean region was declared an "area of ​​strategic importance" by the EU.

On March 13, 2008, the European Council decided to transform the Barcelona Process into a Union for the Mediterranean . The solemn establishment of this union took place on July 13, 2008.

Members

The founding members were the EU member states as well as twelve third countries of the Mediterranean selected by the EU : European UnionEuropean Union 

With the exception of Cyprus and Malta, which are now EU members, and Turkey, all partner countries have in common that they are classified by the EU as non- European states and therefore have no prospect of joining the EU. Instead, in the context of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, they are linked to the EU through the Development Association and, since March 2003, through the European Neighborhood Policy . Libya has had observer status since 1999, but should be integrated into the partnership in the medium to long term.

aims

The primary goal is to create an area of peace , stability and common prosperity in the Mediterranean basin as well as a Euro-Mediterranean free trade zone (EMFZ) aimed at by 2010 . The EU relies on stabilization and long-term transformation of partner countries through economic , political and social cooperation .

construction

In analogy to the CSCE process, the Euro-Mediterranean partnership is based on a structure of three baskets with the normative goal of democratizing the entire region. Around 90 percent of the available financial resources fall into basket II.

Basket I.

Basket I includes the political and security partnership, with the aim of respecting human rights , democratic norms, social pluralism , territorial integrity and the joint fight against terrorism and organized crime as well as the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction .

Basket II

Basket II contains the economic and financial partnership. The main goals are to support sustainable development , combat unemployment , improve living conditions and reduce the north-south prosperity gap, as well as promote regional cooperation and economic integration in the partner countries. The main element of the second basket is the gradual establishment of a free trade area by 2010. The economic and financial partnership is concluded through the promotion of foreign direct investment and financial aid within the framework of the MEDA regulations.

Basket III

Basket III includes the partnership of civil societies in the cultural, social and human fields. The increasing polarization of the Islamic and Western world should be countered by a dialogue between cultures. Basket III rounds off the strategic goals of the first two baskets, as the objective here is to promote the rule of law and democracy with the involvement of civil societies.

literature

  • Tobias Schumacher: The EU as an international actor in the southern Mediterranean. Nomos Verlag, Baden-Baden 2005
  • Abdelmajid Layadi: The relevance of South-South cooperation against the background of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. Nomos Verlag, Baden-Baden 2008
  • Arno Tausch, Peter Herrmann: Dar al Islam. The Mediterranean, the World System and the Wider Europe. Vol. 1: The "Cultural Enlargement" of the EU and Europe's Identity. Vol. 2: The Chain of Peripheries and the New Wider Europe. Hauppauge, New York, Nova Science Publishers 2005.
  • Haytham Adouse: "The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. European Ambitions and Middle Eastern Realities" Verlag Hans Schiler, Berlin 2008.

Web links