Brussels, 12/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - In order to guarantee that it enjoys a stable future, the Mediterranean region must first of all take on an “economic and social imperative”. First and foremost, there is the Mediterranean southern rim's need to create 50 million jobs in 10 years and to invest €300 billion in infrastructure, notes IPEMED, the think-tank specialised in European relations, which is taking stock of its five years of activity. It recognises that the effort required largely exceeds the capacity of the states of the region, as this requires deployment of all life forces, the identification of new public/private partnerships, a different breakdown of added value between North and South, revamped governance and common values based on proximity and solidarity. IPEMED suggests that, in order to achieve this, there should be a structured approach, based more on the economy than on politics.
Radhi Meddeb, IPEMED President, takes the view that the 2011 Arab Spring highlighted, with force, the demands made by the peoples of the region: their right to the vote, access to better social conditions and greater economic prospects. In such a context, the Euro-Mediterranean project is “inescapable”. Meddeb points out in this respect that the members of IPEMED launched the idea in 2005 on the 10th anniversary of the Barcelona process, that a centre for expertise and exchange should be set in place to deepen reflection, share diagnostics, popularise guidance and push the project forward. This was upheld by eminent figures on both sides of the Mediterranean, convinced that, in its inexorable move forward, globalisation will necessarily entail the formation of coherent and united groups.
Meddeb states that the IPEMED has suggested a road that lies on the fringes of politics, and which would give preference to an economic approach, expertise, business involvement, the sharing of analysis and North/South parity, and which would work on defining common policies. He does not rule out political subjects, however, seeing them more as a backdrop than as themes to be tackled directly. He cites the example of the two major conflicts that undermine the eastern and western fronts of the Mediterranean, namely the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that in the Western Sahara.
Job generation will depend on whether these “preconditions” can be met, which requires substantial investment-attraction capacity, in the knowledge, as Meddeb points out, that there will not be sufficient investment without internal and external security and without shared peace throughout the region. In his view, it is necessary to act now in order to build political and legal investment security, to build a Euro-Mediterranean energy community and ensure food security in the Maghreb. This is an approach that has been impressed on the UfM since its reactivation a few months ago, and which targets more concrete objectives and projects. The secretary general, Fathallah Sijilmassi, is even planning to make this the focal point - the “pole for coherence” - for all deliberations on the Mediterranean's concrete future and on projects to be developed. The UfM would focus on seeking partners and funding, and coordinate assistance for the identification of projects in liaison with the partner bodies for funding (EIB, EBRD, etc.).
With this in mind, IPEMED is making proposals and planning to make an “ambitious offer” to meet such challenges, saying that regional integration, parity and Euro-Mediterranean partnership and, also, the rapprochement of a large Europe-Mediterranean-African entity for which the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries (SEMC) will be the lynchpin. Also, the need for parity between North and South is vital and part of the relative failure of Euromed is due to the asymmetrical nature of the two rims, in which Europe decides and the SEMC implement. European Neighbourhood Policy has not improved matters, as the SEMC cannot be content with simply being considered “neighbours”. IPEMED has therefore initiated a series of recommendations, one of the prime elements of which is to move from the logic of aid provision to the logic of long-term lending and investment. It would then be a matter of promoting integration through production rather than through free trade. Also, it would be necessary to give preference to a small number of constructive Euro-Mediterranean policies: - an energy policy, a water policy (other than decontamination of the Mediterranean), a food safety policy, a transport grid throughout the region, and the setting in place of regional policies and regulations, with priority being given to energy, water and agriculture. IPEMED also calls for the creation of a Euro-Mediterranean financial institution and, in the field of services, advocates encouraging preferential opening of national markets to operators from the countries of the region, through packages comprising a range of things from counselling to contracting authority (for example, regarding the development of PPP contracts), sharing experience, training and technology transfers, and loan facilitation for investment - thus facilitating professional mobility and promoting a kind of “migratory ECSC”. Finally, it suggests providing the region with joint representation in the international political arena. (FB/transl.jl)