Brussels, 29/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - Foreign Affairs Ministers from eleven Mediterranean countries - France; Italy; Spain; Portugal; Greece; Turkey; Morocco; Algeria; Tunisia; Egypt and Malta - meeting together as part of the Mediterranean Forum in Agadir last Thursday, have examined the situation following the events of 11 September. They have decided to propose to all countries participating in the Barcelona Process that (during the Ministerial session on 5-6 November in Brussels) a follow-up group monitoring the economic and financial repercussions of this crisis, is set up.
An exchange of views, organised on the King of Morocco's initiative, and to which Louis Michel, the EU Council President, had exceptionally been invited, was concluded with what the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, Georges Papandreou, described as an "unequivocal condemnation" of terrorism. There was not, however, total agreement at Agadir on the definition of terrorism. Countries from the southern part of the Mediterranean sought to condemn "all forms of terrorism" (with the tacit understanding that this included "state terrorism" as practised by the Israeli government). The situation in the occupied territories was referred to by several ministers, particularly those from Egypt and Morocco.
The Mediterranean Forum (an informal structure) is a year older than the Barcelona Process established in 1995 and aims to constitute a place in which preliminary consultation can take place for all countries in the area for both those on the European and south western Mediterranean sides, prior to global Euro-Mediterranean meetings between EU Member States and the 12 Mediterranean countries including Israel and Palestine and the four countries from Mashraq countries of Egypt, Jordan, Libya and Syria. Libya is a unique case in this respect. The Libyan leader, Moammar Gueddafi, again repeated in a recent interview that he was not in favour of an Arab or Middle-Eastern presence at these meetings. In an interview on Al-Jazira television on 23 October, he declared that, "Today, I feel more African than Arab. Don't talk to me about Arabs: they have no taste or depth". He hoped that only Arab African countries such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and of course, Libya would take part in these talks with European countries. The Libyan President had already expressed certain similar reservations regarding the Barcelona Process and would be happy for 6+6 talks (countries from the Forum and Libya).