Brussels, 04/05/2004 (Agence Europe) - The foreign ministers of the EU and of ten Mediterranean rim countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Palestinian Authority and Turkey) will be in Dublin on 5 and 6 May for their traditional "mid-term" session, between two annual formal sessions (in the autumn). In addition to the ministers of the 35 countries (the ten new EU Member States became full members on 1 May), there will be the High Representative, Javier Solana, European Commissioner Chris Patten, and probably also the president of the newly created EuroMed Parliamentary Assembly, Fathi Sourour of Egypt, and the countries invited as observers, Libya in particular. The Commission is still waiting for a letter confirming its acceptance of the acquis and principles of the Barcelona process. Once this condition is met, Tripoli should become an effective member of the dialogue. The session will open on 5 May with a dinner between the ministers before a plenary session on Thursday with, in the meantime, meetings with the European Troika and Israel, on one hand, and with the Arab countries, on the other. The main result expected to come out of the conference is a decision concerning the location of the EuroMed Cultural Foundation - probably Alexandria - and possibly the setting in place of less confused and more transparent working methods.
The decision on where the seat of the Foundation is to be located has practically been taken and should be made official without upsetting Italy which is still putting forward an Italian location, which is only backed by Israel, while there is consensus in favour of Egypt. The other contenders, Malta and Cyprus, have only remained in the running as a matter of form. According to European sources, it is hoped that this will make discussions move forward on aspects relating to security and stability policies. This chapter of the EuroMed process, however, which has been weakened by putting the draft common Charter on such matters on the back burner, is now directly rivalled by special dialogues that NATO has initiated with the countries of the region. Such dialogues now serve as a reference base for that which the EU plans to develop in liaison with ESDP (European Security and Defence Policy). Discussions have already been held on this subject and the European party is hoping, in Dublin, to clearly set out its aims as partner countries affirm they still do not have a clear idea of either the framework or the goals.
The difficult Middle East context will weigh on the debates and its recent developments (putting the Oslo process on the back burner, and the roadmap) could affect the composure of the meeting. The latter was also held at a time when, in Iraq, the situation has been made worse by the numerous attacks and fears that the Americans will get bogged down. The fight against terrorism will, moreover, be among the sensitive issues that ministers will have to tackle. However, for the Arab countries, and Syria and Lebanon in particular, it is too early to imagine consolidation of the EuroMed process (mainly in areas related to the fight against terrorism and security especially when it involves troops or law enforcement forces) until peace is under way in the region. It is true, however, that meetings within this framework are the last place where Arabs and Israelis are getting together round the same table.
The Dublin conference will allow the 35 countries to take stock of dialogue that is taking time to reach its cruising speed. In addition to the traditional themes on the agenda, namely general overview of the political and economic situation and the social implications, mainly immigration, ministers should again look at common working methods. The aim is for the dialogue to be able to continue smoothly outside the confusion created by the "plethora of initiatives" all concerning the Mediterranean region. In addition to the process launched in 1995 in Barcelona, the EU and his partners are called upon to conceive the future of their relations within the framework of the new neighbour country policy also. Such a policy will strengthen the bilateral approach through country-by-country action plans. To this must be added the proposed European global plan for the Arab region and the Middle East, which comes within the context of the US attempts to promote, within the G8, their ideas for a Greater Middle East. Not to mention the "5+5 dialogue" involving the western Mediterranean countries (including 5 EU members) and that of the "Mediterranean Forum" (grouping more broadly 11 rim countries, except Israel). The European Commission recognises that "these multiple activities have caused some confusion among our Mediterranean partners" and gives rise to "misunderstandings" that they hope to see dissipated in Dublin. The Commission mainly plans to deny the impression that the "EU is reviewing its commitment to the region downward". It also hopes that the 35 countries "confirm their commitment" to make the EuroMed process the preferred framework for dealing with all issues of common concern, mainly security-related aspects. On all the economic aspects, the points that the ministers will be reviewing essentially concern encouragement for economic achievement and progress in regional integration.