The European Commission recently presented its new strategy aimed at strengthening its relations with its southern Mediterranean partners under the name Pact for the Mediterranean. This project was discussed at the summit bringing together heads of state and government from Mediterranean countries, held on the sidelines of the third United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France, last June. It will improve on the previous programs of the Barcelona Process and the Neighborhood Policy.
Initially, the objective of this gathering was to improve maritime and land connectivity between the two shores. Following the consultation process launched since then, the content of the project has evolved to take into account the diversity of stakeholders’ needs. In an unstable international geopolitical context, this new pact negotiated by the EU falls short of expectations and is unambitious, both in its objectives and in its overall offer. It remains primarily focused on the challenges facing Europe in terms of migration and security, and its energy needs, rather than establishing a genuine policy that can reduce inequalities between the two shores.
This pact will be submitted for approval by the EU and its southern Mediterranean partners in November, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Barcelona Process. It is likely that its content and proposals will be reviewed and improved in the meantime. The initiatives agreed upon by all delegations would be transposed into a specific action plan specifying the stakeholders and joint actions to be carried out in the coming years. It is estimated that this plan will come into force as soon as it is endorsed and that it will be scalable, with the possibility of incorporating new initiatives over time.
When it was announced, the EU stated that the pact, as presented, was the result of a process of in-depth and inclusive consultations involving a wide range of stakeholders. According to the EU, these included partners from the southern Mediterranean, European states, EU institutions, representatives of civil society, the private sector, academia, think tanks and many other organizations. The objective of this program is to strengthen cooperation and economic ties between the two shores in order to build a common, connected, resilient and secure Mediterranean area, it says.
The EU asserts that this initiative is a very different approach from what we have seen in the past, and observers would like to believe it. It will reportedly focus on concrete initiatives that will bring added value to the people and economies on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea. It will create mutual benefits, including the production of clean energy, the release of private investment, and the mobilization of regional projects. Through a trickle-down effect, these regional projects would, it is hoped, generate opportunities for citizens and businesses, with a focus on young people, women and small businesses.
Europe intends to structure its new approach around three pillars: citizens, economy and security. For each pillar, the Union has identified initiatives it would like to achieve in its cooperation with the southern shore. At the citizen level, actions will focus on youth, education and culture. At the economic one, the pillar includes actions related to the modernization of trade and investment relations, energy, clean technologies, water, agriculture, the blue economy, digital technology and transport, among others. In this context, an initiative on renewable energy and clean technologies, called T-Med and StartUp4Med, are being considered.
The third pillar on security and migration management, appears to be a sensitive issue and a priority for Europeans. The EU has included disaster preparedness in the Mediterranean, migration management and migration flow control. To this end, the Pact provides for a comprehensive approach and integrated border and security management, which will need to be further detailed. We know that Europe is seeking to step up the return of illegal immigrants to southern countries and to maintain increased cooperation to prevent illegal migration. To this end, Brussels plans to organize a Forum on Peace and Security to coordinate actions to be taken with southern Mediterranean countries.
This entire program will be submitted for approval by the EU and its partners in November, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Barcelona Process. It was in 1995 that this process was launched in the hope of strengthening the Oslo peace agreements between Arab countries and Israel. Thirteen years later, in 2008, the Union for the Mediterranean was born, a broader organization bringing together the countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean. The undeclared objective of this new entity was to reduce Turkiye’s enthusiasm for joining the EU, which Nicolas Sarkozy’s France did not want.
All southern Mediterranean countries should engage in calm reflection to draw conclusions from their past relations with the EU since the end of colonization to the present day. In the aftermath of independence, Europe sought to maintain its privileges in order to secure its supply of raw materials, gain access to our markets, and have access to an abundant and cheap labor force. It was because these relations could not continue that the Barcelona Process was launched, with new objectives such as the creation of an area of peace and stability, the strengthening of political and security dialogue, and support for socio-economic and cultural development.
The EU’s eastward enlargement has in turn impacted cooperation between the two shores of the Mediterranean, prompting Brussels to launch the European Neighborhood Policy. Through bilateral action plans, the Union has provided financial support to the southern Mediterranean to reform economies and governance and modernize administrations. It has also been able to strengthen cooperation on security and migration. The Arab Spring revolutions subsequently disrupted these priorities, prompting Europe to adjust its policy once again following the fall of certain Arab regimes and the rise of Islamist movements.
The Mediterranean Pact, which will be adopted this November, aims to reform relations between Mediterranean countries. As usual, Europeans will present a united front, speaking with one voice and defending the same interests. In contrast, the southern Mediterranean countries will attend in scattered ranks and without prior coordination. To take the example of the Maghreb countries alone, the lack of agreement and a collective political vision severely hamper their efforts vis-à-vis Europe.
However, what should be remembered is that Europe will attend this summit while it is in the process of reassessing its international strategic priorities and seeking to strengthen its geopolitical position in the concert of nations. Russia is becoming more threatening towards Europe through its war in Ukraine, Trump’s America cares little about them, and China is adopting an aggressive and assertive economic stance at home and abroad. These competitors of Europe are not necessarily all adversaries for the countries of the southern Mediterranean.
Furthermore, the total budget allocated to this program would amount to €42 billion, which would only be paid out between 2028 and 2034. In other words, it will be a budget of €6 billion per year spread over eight years, dedicated to the entire Mediterranean region. The European far right is already criticizing what it calls the Union’s wastefulness and generosity, forgetting that these expenditures will primarily benefit European companies themselves. For example, the Erasmus student exchange program has been severely criticized because, according to some, it will open the door to migration.
Although it has some positive aspects, the new pact proposed by the EU reflects the fears and weaknesses of a Europe that is actually seeking only to protect itself rather than opening up more to its neighbors and genuinely helping the southern Mediterranean to take off by creating an area of shared prosperity. For a long time, Europe has sought to make its own security and the defense of its achievements its top priority, and this is legitimate. However, the insecurity in the Mediterranean stems precisely from this inequality of development, which can only be overcome through a generous and sincere partnership between the two shores of the Mare Nostrum.
