Mare Nostrum Countries

Let us remember that Barcelona has always been the thorn in the heart of the officials of the Quai d Orsay, upset by the prominence acquired by the Catalan city in the past three decades. It is also true that the process was halted as a result of unexpected obstacles generated by the Arab-Israeli conflict and, later, by the rarefied atmosphere following the bloody attacks of the 11-S. still, the spirit of Barcelona managed to survive; the dynamics could be protected. The achievements of the Euro-Med initiative, by very modest as they are, do not cease to be tangible. It's numerous projects for the integration of women in the social structures of Muslim countries, for the vocational training of young people, the creation of university networks, etc. Although the impact of these actions cannot be measured in the short term, there is no doubt that their achievement It will result in the modification of socio-cultural parameters exist in many countries of the South basin. The Sarkozy proposal, many more simplistic, contemplated first and foremost the creation of two homogeneous blocks - currently, the South is presented as just a conglomerate of countries without policies and common interests-, able to engage in and carry out a coherent dialogue.

However, it seems unlikely that the Nations of the South shore are able to take on this challenge. There are too many differences, too many vested interests, too many rods that separate them. Both EU States that do not have Mediterranean confines, and the countries of the South are not willing to relinquish the much broader framework devised in Barcelona. The Chirac proposal stumbles, because, with its refusal to lower the Barcelona process to a simple agreement minimum. The proposal of the Acting President of the Spanish Government, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who urged the tandem also found in the scope of the minimum German Franco to keep the name of Barcelona process Mediterranean Union. The initiative of the Elysee, which envisaged in principle the creation of a political, economic and cultural union between the two shores of the Mare Nostrum, is now limited to suggest putting up a bureaucratic institutional system co-presidido by personalities from the North and South. Apparently, this would be the best way to encourage the development of new regional projects. Something which, incidentally, greatly annoys MEPs, who prefer to bet on the Barcelona process. We need this proliferation of structures you paraleles?, I was recently asked the President of the European Parliament.