Brussels, 04/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have reached a “compromise” on the Mediterranean Union, now called “Union for the Mediterranean”. The compromise will be formally put forward for adoption by the other member states at the European Council next week in Brussels (13-14 March). “We have reached a compromise on this Union for the Mediterranean that we both want and which will exclude no-one”, Mr Sarkozy said, speaking in Hanover where he accompanied Ms Merkel, on Monday 3 March, to the opening of the internal trade fair for new technologies, CeBIT. Given the fears expressed by Germany and by a number of other member states that parallel cooperation may develop only between the Mediterranean rim countries, outside the Community structures of the EU, the French president finally had to give way a little and agree to enlarge “his” project to all EU member states.
On Tuesday 4 March, in Paris, French Prime Minister François Fillon explained the content of the Franco-German compromise. He said Germany and the other EU member states that do not border on the Mediterranean will have the role of “observer and partner” in the Union for the Mediterranean after the fashion of the role of observer that countries like France or Spain play in cooperation with the Council of Baltic States. Germany and the other EU member states that are not directly concerned by the Mediterranean “will be involved in everything that is organised within that framework, but we must recognise that France and the Mediterranean rim countries have a special role to play”, Mr Fillon stressed. Paris would also have to agree to change the timetable for the summit on the Mediterranean in Paris. The meeting of the EU27 would be held on 13 July, followed on 14 July by that with the Mediterranean third countries (and not the other way round, as initially scheduled). (H.B./F.B.)