Held up by the invasion of Gaza at the beginning of 2009 and the ensuing freeze in Israeli-Palestinian relations, France relaunched the Union for the Mediterranean at a meeting held in Paris yesterday (25 June). EurActiv France reports.
After six months of slow motion, delegations from 43 member states were invited by the French environment minister to evaluate the condition of a number of sustainable development projects.
“The Union for the Mediterranean experienced a major slowdown after January […] We have convinced our partners to resume formal meetings,” indicated the technical counsellor responsible for the economy and finance at the Elysée’s Med Union unit, Gilles Mantré, during a conference organised by the Foundation for Policy Innovation on 19 June.
And if the process has begun anew, it is “solely because we’ve altered the parameters of cooperation,” he added. Contrary to the technical meetings of the Barcelona Process, which brought together ambassadors and experts, the meetings of the Union for the Mediterranean put heads of state and government in contact with one another.
According to diplomats, this was what allowed countries to overcome the Gaza crisis without leaving the Mediterranean Union. This point of view is shared by the president of the Arab World Institute, Dominique Baudis. “It was a mistake to launch the Barcelona Process solely at the ministerial level. When an initiative is taken at the level of heads of state and government, the political impact is stronger,” he said.
Launched with great pomp in July 2008, the Mediterranean Union was given a Franco-Egyptian co-presidency. Institutionally, it has already been decided that the secretariat-general will be in Barcelona, but the team to staff it is yet to be determined.
“All the countries on the southern coast of the Mediterranean agreed to give it up provided that their neighbour didn’t get it,” explained Dominique Baudis. Nevertheless, the nomination of the secretary-general should, however, take place before the end of the year, the political conditions having been recently agreed,” noted Mantré.
Representatives from Israel and Palestine need to be included as joint secretary-generals. But any attempt to bring the two camps closer through the Union seems to stop there. The objective of the project is well and truly to link the countries of the Mediterranean through concrete projects. Also, in France’s view, difficulties between members of the Union should not really be obstacles to the advancement of the project. “We must [first] build concrete solidarity to integrate the zone and create the conditions for peace,” reiterated Mantré.
Towards an energy partnership?
Energy cooperation was brought to the fore by experts and diplomats. “This would not be the first time that economics, through energy, could give some leverage,” commented the director of communications and public affairs at RTE, Michel Derdevet, alluding to the construction of the European Coal and Steel Community at the origins of the current European Union.
9% of global energy demand comes from countries bordering the Mediterranean. The growth of energy consumption in southern countries is 6-7% versus 1% for those in the north. “Encouraging nearby countries to work together makes sense,” he added. “Our interdependence could emerge through the concept of an energy partnership.”
But this project-based logic is not shared by all the players involved. “It is difficult to abstract anything from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The identity questions need to be settled before we make the Union for the Mediterranean,” said the director of the diplomatic representation of the Arab League, Nassif Hitti. “We cannot allow the process to be taken hostage. But we can not abstract it from its context. Without Madrid, there would have been no Barcelona. If we cannot find the spirit of Madrid, there will be no Barcelona one, two or three,” he added. In 1991, the Madrid conference favoured peace talks, which led to the Oslo agreement of 1993 and the Israel-Jordan peace treaty in 1994.
“The Union is facing difficulties because the member states composing it have broken down,” added Asteris Huliaras, associate professor of geography at the Harokopion University of Athens.
“The real assessment of the Union for the Mediterranean will need to be made two years after its launch,” added France’s Mantré. Concrete projects – such as solar power projects or sea highways – thus still have a year to bear fruit.
Source: www.euractiv.com, 26 June 2009
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