Luxembourg, 16/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - "At the present time, everything leads me to believe the ministerial Euro-Mediterranean meeting in Valence will indeed take place", the Spanish Foreign Minister, Josep Piqué, declared in Luxembourg on Monday evening as he presented the results of the General Affairs Council. He recognised that the "difficult context" currently prevailing with the Middle East crisis is not favourable to this, but, despite it all, he hoped there would be participation at the highest level from each of the participants in the Barcelona process. "The Valence meeting will take place", repeated Mr Piqué, pointing out that the meeting on 22 and 23 April should allow the situation in the Middle East to be examined and dialogue to be rekindled with Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab countries. It should result in the adoption of an action plan, he added.
The Council adopted guidelines stressing the European Union's determination to give the Euro-Mediterranean partnership greater substance and coherence. The launching of new initiatives is envisioned but the action plan, that the Fifteen hope to see adopted in Valence by the 27 members of the Barcelona process, should above all take up the measures envisaged during earlier meetings. Given the growing economic gap between the two shores of the Mediterranean, the EU hopes to grant priority to employment and to reforms that foster investment. Recent studies show that the Mediterranean partners are expected, over the next decade, to create 40 million jobs to keep the rate of employment at its current level, which presupposes an annual growth rate of 6 to 7%. To achieve this, the Fifteen should above all recommend strengthening South-South trade integration and implement the measures taken on board by the Trade Ministers during their meeting in Toledo, in order to facilitate trade and investment, harmonise rules of origin, and promote the free provision of services. In addition to the extension of mutual liberalisation in the trade of agricultural products, the conference in Valence may also cover the harmonisation of regulations with a view to gradually establishing a Euro-Mediterranean internal market. The new prospects for financial cooperation will be discussed on the basis of the facility that must be set in place by the European Investment Bank (EIB), which evaluates at EUR 2 billion annually the level of commitments towards the countries of the region by 2006. The creation of an EIB majority owned subsidiary is to be envisaged after assessment of how the facility works. The decision concerning this subsidiary should come one year after the facility is launched. Regarding the promotion of investment in infrastructure and interconnection, the Fifteen consider that the development of maritime transport should be a priority. At the meeting in Valence, the Commission and the EIB will be invited to identify priority projects to improve the South-South and North-South interconnections. As proposed in Marseilles, a conference of economy ministers could be envisaged in order to give fresh impetus to economic dialogue.
The EU also hopes to promote dialogue between cultures, develop cooperation on education and strengthen the social dimension of the partnership (emphasis should be placed on the role of women). Political dialogue should be extended to security issues, to the deep causes of instability, including poverty, and also to the strengthening of democratic institutions. On the subject of terrorism, the Fifteen hope to propose the development of a Euro-Mediterranean code of conduct. In addition to greater regularity of meetings at every level (political and administrative), the Fifteen plan to support the European Parliament's initiative aimed at creating a Euro-Mediterranean parliamentary assembly. This strengthening of links should also contribute to making all participant countries truly belong to this partnership. As for the earlier official meetings of the Foreign Ministers, the 27 members of the process were invited. Libya, Mauritania, the Arab Maghreb Union and the Arab League will be invited as special guests of the Presidency.