Brussels, 17/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - The 5th ministerial Euro-Mediterranean conference will be held on 22 and 23 April in Valencia in a doubly difficult context: - the aftermath of 11 September and the flaring up of renewed conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. As Patrick Laurent, Director at the Commission for relations with the Mediterranean and Gulf countries, remarked, however, nearly all the member countries announced they would attend the Valencia meeting. Israel will be represented, according to the Spanish Presidency, by Shimon Peres. Palestine's level of representation remains to be determined. Syria, which has not yet given an official answer, is said to be hesitating and may, as in Malaga (meeting of industry ministers) be present albeit on the sidelines. Lebanon will be there, all the more as it will be signing its association agreement with the EU shortly before the ministerial session. A signing ceremony will also take place in Algeria. Among the observers, Libya has announced its presence pending acquisition of full membership "as soon as it has accepted the acquis of the Barcelona process", recalled Mr Laurent. He said the question is currently a matter of discussion among the authorities of the country, which are in favour, and the "revolutionary guide", who is personally hostile. The AMU (Arab Maghreb Union) Secretary General, Habib Boulares, will also attend.
Discussions, to be held over three half days, will allow not only the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to be tackled (also to be dealt with at individual talks on Tuesday morning between the Troika and Israel, on one hand, and the Arab countries, on the other) but also themes specific to the Barcelona process (peace, security, good neighbourly relations, conflict prevention, migration, democracy and the rule of law, and, above all, the fight against terrorism). First common conclusions will probably be drawn up at this stage, but it will be necessary to reckon with the negative influence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (mainly the difficulty of giving a definition of terrorism shared by all) which would mean postponement of common actions being announced.
The second working session, on Tuesday morning, will allow a review to be made of the economic chapter (results of recent ministerial, sectoral meetings, the work of expert groups on rules of origin, and above all the opening of a Euro-Mediterranean EIB facility, financial cooperation and cooperation in the services sector, access to agricultural markets, energy, transport and telecommunications networks, investment or grouping employer organisations, etc.) and, above all, means to encourage "horizontal" cooperation between partner countries. The Agadir group (Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan) which has undertaken to create the first "south-south" integration project, will once more receive European encouragement. A separate meeting is organised for talks with the ministers of these four countries that the EU would like to encourage to move faster (in principle, the founding text should be signed in May but delays are announced). Mr Laurent considers that only Morocco and Jordan are fully playing the game.
Finally, under the third section (social, cultural and "human issues"), the ministers will hold an interim examination of what has been undertaken since the Marseilles section (November 2001) to give substance to this chapter which is now enriched with a new issue - almost concluded - on the opening of cooperation in the field of justice and home affairs (JHA). A common project does exist and will be put to the approval of the ministers with a view to initiating first actions such as the training of magistrates. All the points raised and the eventual joint conclusions concerning them will be set out in a text called the "Action Plan", which the Spanish Presidency would like to make the practical charter of the Barcelona process. Finally, a project of "Euro-Mediterranean Foundation" conceived as a reaction to the "shock of 11 September" (on the same model as that created with Asia) is proposed, not without reticence, far more between the Fifteen than with the partners.