Paris, 14/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - “It was extraordinary to bring everybody together" said Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday 13 July, after the Paris summit of some 40 heads of state and government of Europe and the Mediterranean basin, with exceptions such as the King of Morocco, who was represented by his brother, the Libyan leader, the Belgian prime minister and the Czech prime minister. Reiterating the six projects to form the basis of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), the French president spoke of an "extraordinary bet which had come off". The summit will be held every two years and a ministerial conference once a year. This was how the triumphant President Sarkozy presented the conclusion of the work of the "Paris Summit of the Mediterranean". The French head of state also paid tribute to the president of the European Commission, for his "trust", and also to his "decisive friend", German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and to Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero, who has agreed to allow this development in the Barcelona process.
On the site for the secretariat general of the UfM, although there are four candidates cities for the time being (Malta, Barcelona, Tunis and Rabat), this question is to be decided upon in November, at the Euromed meeting of foreign affairs ministers, to be held in Marseille on 3-4 November. The Elysée palace stated that the secretariat would be made up of between 20-30 people, and that the procedure for appointing them had not yet been decided upon. "Before then, we will be working on the funding", said Mr Sarkozy, going on to state that the European Investment Bank (EIB) was a possible donor for the projects planned in the framework of the UfM. "I do not believe it is money we will be short of", added Nicolas Sarkozy. An adviser to the president even said, behind-the-scenes, that he had always felt that they would be able to do without funds from the Community budget.
"What is even more important than funding is trust", added Hosni Mubarak, Co-President of the UfM. The Egyptian president also welcomed the conclusion of the summit: "We have been able to make giant bounds forward. These new pages of this cooperation are now opening onto the future", he said.
"Speaking on behalf of the European Commission, I believe in the future of this cooperation", said José Manuel Barroso. “There are many people who say that Arabs and Israelis will never agree on anything. But I say that it is possible! Because in Europe, we experienced what may have been the worst war of all time. After it finished, we were able to build a reconciliation plan and make economic and social progress. This is why I believe that one day, there will be peace in the region. And I also believe that the way to achieve this is to create greater economic interdependence to ensure that war is one day improbable, or even impossible, The fact that we are working together is one more step towards peace”, added the president of the Commission, speaking to a small group of journalists earlier that afternoon.
When asked about the life expectancy of the Barcelona process, an expression diligently avoided throughout the day by the French representatives in favour of the Union for the Mediterranean instead, the Spanish foreign affairs minister told EUROPE (our translation): “When the process has reached maturity, it will lead to a Union”. The Commission must continue to have a role, but much will depend on the secretariat in Barcelona, added Miguel Angel Moratinos, adding that he was confident on the choice of this installation.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed this new life breathed into the Barcelona process. To this end, she told journalists that the Paris summit was “a very good start”.
Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the summit, Hans-Gert Pöttering said: "I believe that it has been a great success because all of the leaders were there, with the exception of one. All of the 27 were there, and the European institutions were represented. But now the real work starts. We now have to develop concrete projects. Of course, there will be money from private funds, and money from the governments, but there will also be European money, in other words money from the budget of the EU. And here, the European Parliament has a great responsibility in this field, together with the Council". When asked about the attitude of the Arab leaders during the speech of Ehoud Olmert during the summit, Mr Mubarrak confirmed that Mahmoud Abbas was not present in the negotiating room during the speech of the Israeli prime minister. He played down the significance of this absence, as did Nicolas Sarkozy, who added that the main thing was that there had not been any "notable incidents".
(Nearly) Everything remains to be done
The final statement (the entire text of which is annexed to this bulletin) refers most of the decisions to be made at the ministerial meeting - already scheduled as part of the Barcelona process - for next November. Among the major achievements was an agreement on a co-presidency. The co-presidency of the group of partner countries has been clearly established and it is the Egyptian head of state who will take up his post for two years. President Sarkozy will be a co-president on behalf of the European side, but the opinions of the European delegations on how to interpret this provision on European representation differ for the time being. The secretariat, whose headquarters, composition and funding have still to be decided, will be guaranteed autonomy and a legal personality. The details of the mandate for the institutional structure will be decided upon by consensus of the foreign affairs ministers in November 2008, "on the basis of in-depth discussions and proposals put forward by all partners".
The European Commission, which had succeeded in tackling the issue with the support of the European Spring Council, seems to have been left behind by the original draft, which has changed to include all of the countries of the European Union. However the declaration of Paris confers upon it an essentially inter-governmental character, which may eventually completely sideline the European Commission.
During the summit, the French nature of the project was highlighted by the absence of any Community symbol on the decor, badges and documents. This meant that journalists had available to them much literature on the Union for the Mediterranean and its projects, all bearing the logo "French illustrative document with no official status".
A Meeting which lasted just over three hours
When opening a summit meeting which lasted just over three hours, the French president said: "If we have come together here, it is because we all believe that the European dream and the Mediterranean dream are inseparable from each other, that they will stand together or fall together (...). If we have come together here, it is because we no longer want to be neighbours, but because we want to be partners". Having reiterated how the Barcelona process was born in 1995, Nicolas Sarkozy said that "the time has come to (...) write our joint history together (...). There are major challenges for us to face, which we can only face together", he added.
The Egyptian president and co-president of the UfM designate spoke after the French president, stating that he agreed to this responsibility because he is "convinced by the objectives and perspectives" proposed by the French draft. Referring to the 15 years of the Barcelona process, he underlined the successes and failures due, he said, to those of the Middle East peace process. He stressed the difficulty experienced in creating a cultural dialogue, as illustrated by "the attempts on the symbols of Islam, which have collided with the sensitivity of the Arabs, Muslims and emigrant communities". Hosni Moubarak acknowledged, however, that the Barcelona process had had more success economically, but had not been able to achieve the "four freedoms" (goods, capital, services and people; referring to the unresolved problem of the freedom of movement of persons). The main thing, he believes, is that a new stage has been opened and will be based on "equality and mutual profit", and based around the need to intensify the search for peace, with a direct appeal to Mr Abbas and Mr Olmert. This stage must also, President Mubarak added, take account of the realities in the south of the Mediterranean, the "pace of reform" and the need to take account of democratic changes. We must, he said, take as a basis the current situation but looking forward into the future, to 2030 or 2050 and prepare for them.
"Meeting here, amongst the diversity of our languages, but also of our cultures and individual histories, our continents and the nearly 800 million people whom we represent, we see a sea which represents a common horizon: the Mediterranean", said the President of the Commission, adding that discussions should focus on economic development, food safety, water and energy, the protection of the environment, civil protection and maritime safety, education, research, culture and mobility. "We can and must do more and better in all of these fields", said José Manuel Barroso, concluding: "The Barcelona Process-Union for the Mediterranean will prove the great French historian Fernand Braudel right. He said (and I quote) that the Mediterranean is a bridge, rather than a frontier".
The Tunisian president laid emphasis on the "strategic place" to be granted to the environment. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali pleaded in favour of the creation of a genuine common policy, with a Mediterranean agency for the protection of the ecosystem and the shore. "The Union for the Mediterranean is a project which gives us hope", said Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, proposing to create a Mediterranean Centre for scientific research in Lebanon. Silvio Belusconi called upon his partners to find the urgency within them to create a common solution to resolve the hike in energy prices. Speaking before the press, the president of the Italian Council said that unless such a solution is found, we must very quickly resume building nuclear power stations. He also voiced his "full support" for Turkish accession to the European Union. (L.B.S./F.B./O.J./trans.fl)