Brussels, 12/04/2005 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, just a few months from the 10th anniversary of the Barcelona Declaration, the Commission adopted a communication in which it suggests a work programme to strengthen Euro-Mediterranean partnership (Barcelona Process) during the period 2005-2010. Speaking to the press, External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner expressed her belief that the Barcelona Process has already made a difference in the daily lives of citizens in the Mediterranean region but that it has not reached its full potential. The process, she said, should therefore be speeded up for even better results. To this end, the Commission suggests an “ambitious but realistic” work programme focused on three “key areas” for the future of the Mediterranean region: education, sustainable economic growth as well as human rights and democracy.
Education. With one third of the population of Mediterranean partners under the age of 15, education in these countries is crucial and, Ms Ferrero-Waldner said, she will make it her “personal top priority”. The goal is to increase the quality of education for all and ensure more equitable access to education. “There must be full access to a basic education for all and equal access to higher education”, she stressed. In concrete terms, the Commission suggests that the EU should substantially increase its support for education and vocational training. “My aim is to ensure that, from 2007 on (with the new financial perspectives), the Community support in this field should be at least 50% higher than at present”, Ms Ferrero-Waldner said. The Commission also recommends that the Euro-Mediterranean partners should follow a new objective in the run up to 2015, namely that of eradicating illiteracy in the region, providing primary education for all children and eliminating all inequality between boys and girls at every level of the educational system. The Commission also proposes launching a programme of university grants in Europe as of 2006, either within the Erasmus Mundus programme already in force or by strengthening activities relating to mobility in the context of the Tempus programme. A certain percentage of this programme should be reserved for women.
Growth and economic reform. The Barcelona Declaration set itself the aim of concluding a free trade agreement by 2010. “We are just five years from this deadline and we must now act if we are to reach our goal”, Ms Ferrero-Waldner said. To this end, the Commission suggests that the Euromed partners should, in 2005, launch regional talks on a voluntary basis on the liberalisation of services and the freedom of establishment. The Commission will present negotiating directives for approval to the Council, she announced. Furthermore, Euro-Mediterranean partners should, also in 2005, finalise a roadmap for the liberalisation of the trade in farm products, especially for processed farm products and fisheries products. Here too, the Commission will put proposals for negotiating directives to the Council. The protocol on the pan-Euro-Mediterranean protocol should be gradually implemented throughout the Euromed area as of 2005, the Commission contends. Also, a meeting of Euro-Mediterranean transport ministers should be held before the end of the year to approve a regional network of transport infrastructure connected to the trans-European transport network. Work on approximation of technical legislation and standards and certification procedures should intensify in 2006 so as to pave the way for negotiations on conformity assessment agreements (ACAAs), the Commission maintains.
Human rights and democracy. The Commission hopes to “recentre” Euro-Mediterranean partnership on the protection of human rights, greater autonomy for women, democracy, pluralism and the establishment of an independent judiciary. The Commission therefore suggests closer cooperation in these fields, especially with the creation of a new facility for democracy aimed at supporting partner countries that make concrete progress in these areas.
In addition to these three priority areas, the work programme covers other sectors such as the environment (according to the Commission, a timetable with concrete measures aimed at completely ridding the Mediterranean of pollution by the year 2020 should be adopted in 2006), migratory flows, weapons of mass destruction and the fight against terrorism (the Commission advocates establishing a code of conduct). The work programme will first of all be discussed with the countries of the region during the meeting of Euromed foreign ministers in May, in Luxembourg, and at the tenth anniversary conference in Barcelona, in November.