EURO-MEDITERRANEAN PARTNERSHIPS SINCE THE MIDDLE OF THE 20th CENTURY
Introduction
Defining exactly the geographical limits of the Mediterranean area will never be simple as long as the existence of a common Mediterranean culture, shared by all the people living round the shores of the sea, continues to cause heated debate. Yet since the 19th century, the Mediterranean has never stopped inventing itself. The “Mediterranean dream” is nourished by geographical, anthropological and historical references which are the foundation of a sense of belonging to a common space. This is the starting point on which all the political aims of reconciliation and cooperation are built, especially between the north and south, and, since they have worked in the past, many believe reconciliation and cooperation are the right way to prepare for economic integration.
However, try to define the Mediterranean and it rapidly becomes clear that it is a region of enormous diversity, the meeting point of three continents where, in the early 21st century, there are 24 sovereign states (25 if one adds the Palestinian Authority), each with a different political regime. For centuries the close proximity of the three great monotheistic religions have made the Mediterranean a place of tension and confrontation, revived in the 20th century by the rise of nationalism. One of the main fracture lines divides the Mediterranean between North and South but also, in terms of culture, between East and West. Until the mid-20th century, the southern countries were marked by colonial domination, even now indelibly engraved on people's memory, but also by very different levels of development. Although trade is brisk, there is a strong imbalance both in terms of the movement of goods and of people. These inequalities provoke instability, seen in Europe as a threat. Since the 1950's, Europeans have tried to find the right balance between association and integration, one which would ensure security and prosperity around the Mediterranean basin where the issues vary according to geopolitical developments and shocks.
Introduction
I. The idea of Euro-Africa
II. Projects for a Mediterranea...
III. The EEC's Mediterranean po...
IV. The revival of the Euro-Med...
V. The Barcelona Process
VI. The Union for the Mediterra...
Conclusion
Brief Bibliography
Abstract
Defining exactly the geographical limits of the Mediterranean area will never be simple as long as the existence of a common Mediterranean culture, shared by all the people living round the shores of the sea, continues to cause heated debate. Yet since the 19th century, the Mediterranean has never stopped inventing itself. The “Mediterranean dream” is nourished by geographical, anthropological and historical references which are the foundation of a sense of belonging to a common space. This is the starting point on which all the political aims of reconciliation and cooperation are built, especially between the north and south, and, since they...
Author
Mourlane Stéphane
Lecturer in contemporary history, University of Aix-Marseille, TELEMME, MMSH.