Brussels, 08/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - The new Libya will have its rightful place within Euro-Mediterranean policy, states Yousssef Amrani, the secretary general of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in statements to the press of his country (Morocco). He underlines his resolve to work towards Libya's full integration into the Euro-Mediterranean area.
Tripoli was involved as no more than an observer in the Barcelona Process and in the UfM. Colonel Gaddafi was opposed to this but his position was very variable, and often somewhat capricious. On many occasions, he had expressed his opposition to the Euro-Mediterranean policy, considering that all it did was separate Arabs from Africans. In other proposals, he had also suggested, in order to avoid the negative influence of the Middle East dossier, that participation by Israel and Palestine be suspended until settlement of the conflict and, on yet another occasion, he had advised the latter to come together in one and the same delegation called “Isratine”.
With Gaddafi out of the picture, Amrani considers the time has come to transform the status of Libya by making it a full member. He says that the full integration of Libya into the whole of the Mediterranean region is a natural requirement because of the country's privileged geographical position in the Maghreb, being to the south and in the centre of the Mediterranean. Over recent months, he affirmed the UfM's commitment to contributing to the conclusion of the Arab Spring with the establishment of a “democratic, appeased, stable and prosperous Euro-Mediterranean space”, according to a statement made after the meeting in Paris of the international conference for support to the post-Gaddafi Libya, organised on 1 September by France and the United Kingdom. He explained (our translation): “That is what the Union for the Mediterranean is all about, based on strong and clear principles: equality, co-ownership between countries of the south and north, variable geometry, promotion and assistance to the funding of projects and concrete regional partnerships”. (F.B./transl.jl)