Barcelona, 28/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - The first Euro-Mediterranean Summit, which was held in Barcelona on 28 November to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Euromed partnership, succeeded in adopting a code of conduct on the fight against terrorism and a five-year working programme, but the planned final declaration was replaced by a "declaration of the President", (EUROPE will publish these texts). The declaration stresses the need for a fair and equitable Israeli-Palestinian settlement and the commitment to have both States living side-by-side "in peace and harmony", as Tony Blair told the press, but adding: the Euromed process is not what is going to "resolve the conflict in the Middle East". The important thing is the code on the fight against terrorism, "which was agreed upon by all, including Israel and the Palestinians", stressed Mr Blair, who feels that the most important sentence of the whole text is the one that states that "terrorism can never be justified". This is the first time that more than 30 countries have together adopted this kind of text, continued the British Prime Minister, acknowledging that the discussion scheduled at the United Nations on the definition of terrorism would not be easy. He went on to state that there would no doubt be a "battle about the words", but what counts is the "spirit" of the Barcelona Summit. A kind of "international consensus" is becoming apparent on common values, which are "universal", not just "western or European", he said. As for the working plan targeting the economic and social development in the region, Mr Blair stressed the " very strong chapter on migration (incentives to legal migration and cooperation in the fight against illegal immigration and trafficking in human beings). When asked about the absence of eight Heads of State from the south of the Mediterranean at the Summit (see below), Mr Blair noted that many of them had "very good reasons", but that in any case, all of the countries were represented at a very high level. In the view of the Spanish Prime Minister Zapatero, this summit marks "a leap of quality" of the Barcelona process, "in the right direction", paving the way for a "EuroMediterranean area of liberty, security and justice" alongside the economic and commercial space. The High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana, could do no other wise than declare that he was delighted, 10 years after the conference he chaired in his capacity as the Spanish Foreign Minister (and for which he received an accolade from Prime Minister Gonzalez for having been able to bring President Arafat and the Israeli Prime Minister Barak together ran the same table). The same satisfaction was voiced by the President of the Commission, José Manuel Barroso, who said that the expanding EU has shown that it is not neglecting its Mediterranean partnerships, and knows how to "build a bridge to the south".
A summit marked by absence of considerable number of leaders from South
The summit was marked by a considerable defection on the part of the principal heads of State from the partner countries, from Arab countries as well as Israel, and by an extension, up to the last minute, of negotiations on the texts which concluded the meeting. Almost all of the European Heads of State and Government were present (including Angela Merkel, taking part in her first major international conference as German Chancellor) and, alongside, a long list of guests. Apart from the usual observers- Libya, Mauritania, the Arab League, UAM, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia- the UK Presidency had also invited, amongst others, Iraq and Norway (according to certain sources, it had also planned to invite Condoleezza Rice). Only two Heads of State from the partner countries- Turkey and Palestine- had made the journey. The other countries were represented by their heads of government or foreign and affairs ministers who took part. In the view of the President of the European Parliament and of the Euromed Parliamentary Assembly, Josep Borrell, "it would have been better for all to be there. Some of the absences were justified, others less so". Mr Borrell added: " I regret this. The presence of all would have ensured a more powerful commitment (...). This lack of willingness shows that there is very much a feeling that things are vague (...), but it is not the way to solve the problem and create new impetus". The representatives of the Member States, however, seemed sorry, rather than genuinely disappointed, by the turnout. In fact, none of the absent Heads of State had any genuine political reasons comparable to a boycott, but according to Arab diplomatic sources, there was certainly not enough motivation encouraging them to make the journey and to abandon their national political concerns. It is equally true for Israel as for Jordan or Egypt. Others preferred not to have to answer embarrassing questions about their internal situation. Such countries include Syria, which was represented at the meeting by the Foreign Minister (contradictory information is circulating about whether President Bachar Al Assad had been invited). On the other hand, it is known that Emile Lahoud of Lebanon was not invited, although his Prime Minister was. The Moroccan sovereign, who is currently on a State tour of Asia, has always tended to prefer bilateral relations rather than collective "grand fares", a European source commented. The only one who explained his absence by political reasons was the President of Egypt, whose ambassadors and high-ranking civil servants had battled, right up to the last minute, against the inclusion in the text of the final declaration (which was finally replaced by the "declaration of the presidency") of elements which may be interpreted as a form of "political conditionality" and against too much direct involvement of representatives of the "civil society platform". The Algerian President cancelled his trip for "medical reasons", but the Algerian press appeared sceptical about this, summing up a memorandum transmitted by Alger to Barcelona, which calls into question not only the neighbourhood policy, but also the planned free-trade zone. In the view of the Egyptian Minister for foreign affairs, who is the coordinator of the Arab group, on the other hand, these absences "do not call into question the commitment of the Arab countries to the Barcelona process"; on the contrary, said Dr Abul Geith, the Arab presence is "strong, given the number of heads of government present". It is, however, worth noting that in Barcelona, the secretary general of the Arab League protested, on each occasion, that the reforms called for by the partners of the Arab world (the EU and the United States alike) could not be imposed from outside. In any case, the absence of all Heads of State from one of the most important "neighbourhood" zones and the EU is seen as a relative failure. According to several observers, it remains to be seen whether it is the failure of the EU or that of the UK Presidency alone, whose role in the preparatory phase and the management of the invitations caused irritation in the partner countries. Amongst other things, the partner countries criticised the Presidency for having gone back on the promise it made at the preparatory meeting of the Arab ministers of foreign affairs, which was held in Cairo in early November, where the representative of the Presidency was able to reassure the ministers on various points of the final declaration of the summit, relating to governance, the independence of justice in their countries and a tone which was acceptable to all in paragraphs relating to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "For our part, we have made major concessions. Spain can bear witness to this", said an Arab ambassador, blaming London and Israel for recent blockages in discussions at Barcelona.
Differences of opinion on sensitive political issues and the role of the neighbourhood policy
The differences of opinion which punctuated the Summit related to governance, the role of civil society, the definition of terrorism (as distinct from the right to resistance) and, above all, the common appreciation of the situation in the Middle East and, in particular, the reference to the borders of 1967 as a basis for the regulation. Beyond these politically sensitive themes, the future of Euromed dialogue, as a backdrop for the discussions, shed light on the need for the greater overlap between the Barcelona process and enabled policy of the EU. "We need a transparent approach, on the concepts as well as on the means", said a high-ranking Arab diplomat. "The situation would have been worse without the Barcelona process", because "the Mediterranean condenses the problems of the century", noted President Borrell, for his part. "The alliance of civilisations", for which Mr Zapatero, supported by his peers, has made himself a champion, was the theme of the special session on Sunday, and was also mentioned over the dinner, at the same time as the examination of the general political situation in the region. Among the ideas which emerged from the debates, between ministers as well as between high-level civil servants, Mr Zapatero presented one of creating a permanent Euromed secretariat. Certain sources announced requests to relaunch the plan for a Euro-Mediterranean bank, which had already been called for by the Parliamentary Assembly.
Aside from these differences of opinion, the spirit in which the implementation of the Barcelona process is continuing was also called into question. "We have just about have the time to put a certain approach into practice, when the European Commission is already proposing a different one", said an Arab diplomat. This is aimed directly at the neighbourhood policy, the promotion of which by the European Commission is accompanied by frequent calls for clarifications by the partner countries. "The boundary between the two approaches is not clear", the same source continued. For others, one lesson the EU might draw from this summit could be to "improve the articulation between the Barcelona approach and the neighbourhood approach", even though the European Commission already claims that complementarity exists between the two (see EUROPE 9075 on the press conference given by Mr Barroso and Ms Ferrero-Waldner). Some people have observed, for example, that the European High Representative for CFSP never refers to the neighbourhood policy, a persistent ommission which his services explain away by the fact that this comes under the competency of the Commission (although several aspects come under the field of the security policy for which Mr Solana is responsible). "I would like to bet that after this summit, the central theme of our discussions in Brussels with the EU will revolve around the need to create a balance between the three planks of the process, and to create a clear distinction between Barcelona and neighbourhood" an Arab diplomat predicted.