Brussels, 11/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - An Arab “mini-summit” was held on Tuesday 10 June at the end of the day in Tripoli, in an impromptu manner (announced just the day before) at, it would seem, the initiative of the “Libyan revolutionary guide”, Mu'ammar Kadhafi. The summit was devoted to the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). In addition to the Libyan leader, it was attended by the presidents of Algeria, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Tunisia, Zine Ben Aali, Syria, Bashar al Assad, and Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi. There were five non-appearances, including the noticeable absences of Egyptian President Hosni Moubarak - challenged by his peers for his unilateral designation by the French president as candidate to the post of UfM co-president - and the King of Morocco, who seems isolated in his attitude towards the future Union. Rabat, which had initially approved the French proposal, considers the proposal has been emptied of content but maintains its support of the French vision. Morocco, however, was represented by its prime minister, Abass El Fassi. The others not attending were the King of Jordan, whose attitude seems relatively passive, the new Lebanese president, Michel Suleiman, whose presence was difficult to conceive during the current phase of investiture as freshly elected head of state, and, finally, the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.
Participation at this mini-summit shows just how big differences are one month to the day before the “summit” in Paris on 13 July. Although Egypt and Tunisia are not experiencing any difficulty in signing up to the UfM project - as Egypt is almost guaranteed of holding a post of co-presidency, with Hosni Moubarak, and Tunisia is almost sure to hold the seat of the future secretariat - Morocco, Algeria and Libya have expressed doubts about their intentions for very different reasons.
In a skilful speech delivered at the opening of the “mini-summit”, convened just one week before the European Council, the Libyan leader shows barefaced hostility to the UfM project which, he feels, looks too much like the Barcelona process and was too integrated into it not only by the European Council decision of mid-March but also by the European Commission's proposal (Council communication of 20 May this year). “Barcelona is dead”, he repeated more than once during his speech. His Mediterranean Arab colleagues walled themselves up in a silence that shed no light on the content of talks during the mini-summit. The Libyan “guide” said that the European offer to cooperate in this framework was “unworthy” and looked like a form of charity. He accused the EU of wanting to divide Arabs and Africans. “If Europe wants to cooperate with us, then let it do so with the Arab League or the African Union (…). We do not agree that Europe should deal with a single group”. The EU “keeps an eye on its unity and refuses to be divided and the initiative of our dear friend Sarkozy has been firmly rejected by Europe. The Arab League, also, does not agree to disperse its ranks and to destroy its unity”. Other than the diatribe by Mu'ammar Kadhafi, who, as it has been known for several months, has not appreciated having to accept the acquis of the Barcelona process, there is nothing at this stage to show that a common position has been found. Even if such were the case, it would commit fewer than half of the group of the Arab Mediterranean rim countries. (F.B./transl.jl)