Brussels, 08/02/2007 (Agence Europe) - The Barcelona Process has erupted in debate surrounding the upcoming French presidential elections with the UMP (right wing) candidate Nicolas Sarkozy mooting the idea in Toulon on Wednesday evening of creating a Mediterranean Union, if he is elected, with Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Cyprus (he did not mention Malta) with its own council of heads of state and a Mediterranean Council, based on the European Union and set up for the same reasons. Both Unions would work closely together, he said, hinting that the Mediterranean Union would only include EU member states along the lines of the 5+5 dialogue (Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania). The idea seems to be closely based on 5+5 dialogue because it also covers security issues, managing immigration and economic cooperation without any huge political content. Sarkozy suggests creating a collective security system, structured dialogue on immigration, the environment, sustainable development and a Development Bank to back cooperation efforts. Sarkozy said that the EU's relations with Turkey should be seen in this context because the EU cannot become a political union if it has no borders. Turkey is not Europe but it is a great country, he said, urging it to play a key role in the Mediterranean Union he suggests setting up.
The idea of a Mediterranean Union also has Africa in its sights. Sarkozy said a Euro-African strategy, necessarily based around the Mediterranean, had to be urgently thought up before the US and China make any further headway in Africa. He said the challenge for the EU was the challenge of globalisation, which begins in the Mediterranean. His speech in Toulon covered a wide range of Mediterranean issues, including peace in the Middle East, the dialogue of civilisations and relations with the Arab World. The future of France and Europe is being played out in the Mediterranean, he said, making references to history, religion and culture. Sarkozy said the Mediterranean Sea did not lead to unknown territory but to familiar landmarks, recalling the history of a world that had seen the emergence of civilisations with a multitude of gods. But against the backdrop of a blue sky and a blue sea, there were bloody, furious tragedies and arcane inexpiable hatreds that civilisation had not yet managed to extinguish and for this reason, he wanted to see a Mediterranean Union established to succeed where the Barcelona Process had been unable to. The failure of the Barcelona Process was predictable, he added. (fb)