Brussels, 28/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - France, the joint president of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) “notes” the resignation of Secretary General Ahmad Massa'deh (see EUROPE 10303) and says it is “more than ever convinced that there has to be political will to overcome differences in order to build an alliance on both sides of the Mediterranean”.
In a press release, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs denies there has been any failure and states that “progress has already been made in areas seen as priorities by Euro-Mediterranean heads of state and government when they met in Paris on 13 July 2008”. France says that “significant strides forward” have already been achieved. It goes on: “Whatever the difficulties, this ambition (creating an area of peace, solidarity and prosperity) must never be forgotten. As the President of the Republic recently pointed out, the Mediterranean must no longer be an area of conflict, violence and tragedy. It must become a place of sharing, of cooperation, a great zone of joint development, creativity, culture and peace - a difficult task, but one which has never been more pressing. We call on all the governments and all the peoples of Europe and the Mediterranean to give fresh impetus to the Union for the Mediterranean. There is no doubt all our futures depend on it”.
Egypt, the other joint president, has not, as far as we know, yet reacted. According to still unconfirmed reports, the resignation of the Jordanian secretary general has more to do with his country's desire to take over the joint presidency from Egypt and so avoid any complaints over its holding too many posts and having too much power. Tunisia has already been sounded out about providing a new secretary general and Morocco would be willing to send Youssef Amrani, who is currently the director general for Europe at the Foreign Ministry. (F.B./transl.rt)