12 EU Partnership with the Mediterranean
and Middle East
| (25714)
—
—
| Draft Presidency Report: EU Strategic Partnership with the Mediterranean and Middle East
|
| Legal base | — |
| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
|
| Basis of consideration | EM of 9 June 2004
|
| Previous Committee Report | None
|
| To be discussed in Council | 17-18 June 2004 European Council
|
| Committee's assessment | Politically important
|
| Committee's decision | Cleared
|
Background
12.1 Europe and the Mediterranean and Middle East are linked by
geography, history and common trade, investment and security interests.
An increasing number of EU residents and citizens have originated
there. The EU's relations with these areas hitherto have reflected
the complexity and diversity of those countries. Thus far there
is no single framework. The most developed is with the Mediterranean
countries, with which the EU has a long-standing partnership
— the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership — covering political
and security dialogue, economic relations and social and cultural
relations, all of which flows from the 1995 Barcelona Declaration.[23]
Association Agreements combining free trade with substantial
financial support (the MEDA programme)[24]
are important aspects of the Partnership. Relations will be further
strengthened within the European Neighbourhood Policy framework.[25]
12.2 The Stuttgart European Council decided that
it would be open to Libya to become a member once UN sanctions
had been lifted and Libya had unconditionally accepted the Barcelona
acquis in full. While the first requirement has now been met,
Libya has yet to make a formal undertaking in regard to the second.
12.3 The Cooperation Agreement with the Gulf Co-operation
Council (GCC)[26]
dates from 1989 and covers a number of areas of economic cooperation;
the EU and GCC also have political dialogue meetings. Negotiations
for a free trade agreement are under way.
12.4 The 1998 Trade and Co-operation Agreement with
Yemen consolidated a relationship begun 20 years earlier;
a formal political dialogue is expected to commence in July 2004.
Preparations are under way for future relations with a sovereign
Iraq government, with the EU supporting reconstruction
in particular through the World Bank and the UN. With Iran,
negotiations are pending for a trade and co-operation agreement
and a parallel political agreement. The EU has also engaged in
a "Comprehensive Dialogue" and a "Human Rights
Dialogue".
12.5 The challenge is set out in the EU Security
Strategy: "to promote a ring of well-governed countries …
on the borders of the Mediterranean with whom we can enjoy close
and co-operative relations". Among the security concerns
that are already worrying are regional conflicts, terrorism, proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction, and organised crime. While different
countries face different challenges, many derive from a single
over-arching issue — a predominantly young population creating
an ever-increasing demand for education and fulfilling employment.
But there is an equally widespread recognition that responses
can succeed only if generated from within the affected societies,
and cannot and should not be imposed from outside. It is against
this background that the December 2003 European Council asked
the Presidency and the Secretary General/High Representative,
in co-ordination with the European Commission, to present proposals
for a strategy towards the region.
12.6 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 9 June, the
Minister for Europe (Mr Denis MacShane) summarises the resulting
Commission paper:
"The paper identifies the principles and priorities
for EU engagement with the region. It has been drawn up following
consultation by the Presidency with the countries of the region
at the Euro-Mediterranean and EU-Gulf Co-operation Council Ministerials
in May. It is complementary to initiatives from the US, the G8
and the region itself as outlined in the Arab League Summit declaration
to promote the prosperity and development of the Arab States and
peoples.
"The paper establishes the following principles
for action:
- Partnership should be a cornerstone
of the strategy.
- Successful implementation requires a long term
and coherent engagement.
- The strategic partnership should adopt a differentiated
approach to engagement with the countries in the region.
- The objective should be the development of a
prosperous, secure and vibrant Mediterranean and Middle East.
- The partnership will focus on the countries of
North Africa and the Middle East including the countries of the
[GCC], Yemen, Iraq and Iran.
- Resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict will
remain a core strategic priority. However progress on the resolution
of the conflict cannot be a precondition for confronting the urgent
reform challenges facing our partners in the region, nor vice
versa.
- The Partnership will reflect the centrality of
the role of education for youth in creating a knowledge society.
- It will give support to the empowerment of women
so as to foster their fullest possible participation in society.
- It will seek to promote understanding between
the EU and the region.
- It will offer the opportunity to all partners
to move at a pace in accordance with their willingness to engage.
- Those progressing a reform agenda quickly should
have greater opportunities to avail of the wider benefits of the
partnership.
- It should build on existing structures where
they exist.
- We should reflect upon new structures for those
countries with which existing bilateral or regional frameworks
are insufficient.
- An important factor in our relations is the presence
in Europe of significant populations with origins in our partner
countries.
"The Strategic partnership should be based on
addressing the following priority issues:
- The Middle East Peace Process;
- Democratisation, human rights
and the rule of law;
- Security issues, counter-terrorism and non-proliferation;
- Migration;
- Economic reforms;
- Social Development; and
- Cultural Dialogue.
"The Paper suggests a report on progress against
the principles and priorities of the Strategic Partnership at
the June 2005 European Council."
The Government's view
12.7 The Minister says:
"Negotiations continue on the final text of
the Strategic Partnership paper. As it stands, it is largely
in line with Government objectives for EU engagement in the region
and is complementary to our own policy of encouraging reform.
The Government has emphasised the need to increase the effectiveness
of existing EU instruments, including the Barcelona Process and
in particular a more focused and strategic use of MEDA funds.
The Government therefore welcomes the Strategy as a means to
focus existing instruments on achieving key objectives. The Government
agrees that different instruments can be used within the wider
region to achieve the common objectives of the Strategy.
"We welcome the focus on priorities and principles,
especially those related to democracy and human rights, which
will establish a clear framework for engagement based on partnership
and promotion of political and economic reform. We especially
welcome the principle of the EU offering enhanced relationships
with those countries most willing to progress their reform agendas.
"The Government welcomes, and has pressed for,
complementarity between this EU approach and other initiatives,
including those of the G8 and the US's Middle East Partnership
Initiative. It seeks to galvanise international support for assisting
the region's development, responding to regionally-led momentum
on reform, as highlighted most recently by the Arab League in
its Tunis Summit conclusions on 23 May 2004.
"The Government does not believe that an increase
in overall development funding to the region as a result of the
Strategic Partnership is necessary. It believes that stimulating
and supporting the political will for change is more important
in order to create an enabling environment for economic and human
development".
12.8 The Minister concludes:
"The Government believes that an EU relationship
with the Mediterranean and Middle East that focuses on supporting
reform is a vital element of the EU's security strategy. We welcome
the proposed paper put forward by the Presidency as the basis
on which the EU's instruments for engaging the region should be
developed. We recognise that the Strategic Partnership takes
a long term policy approach. We strongly believe that the EU
approach can contribute significantly to bilateral and international
objectives in support of change and modernisation in the region."
12.9 The paper will now be considered by the 17-18
June European Council.
Conclusion
12.10 The Euro-Med Partnership demonstrates the
validity of the approach taken in the strategy, and is also testament
to its essentially long-term nature. The priorities are clearly
well-chosen. The emphasis on dialogue and partnership rather
than imposing prejudged solutions — exemplified already
in the extent to which Arab partners have been involved in the
preparatory work — is also welcome.
12.11 We welcome the proposal to extend the Euro-Med
approach to the rest of the Middle East, have no questions to
put to the Minister, and clear the document.
23 The Barcelona Conference in November 1995 agreed
a new framework for relations between the EU and 12 Mediterranean
partners, which has become known as the Barcelona, or EuroMed,
Process. The ten non-EU partners in the EuroMed Partnership are:
Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian
Authority, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. Cyprus and Malta were
among the non-EU partners but are now EU Member States. Back
24
The MEDA programme is the principal financial instrument for implementing
the Euro-Med Partnership, providing technical and financial support
to accompany economic and social reform. Back
25
(25708) 9921/04: see HC 42-xxii (2003-04), para 22 (9 June 2004). Back
26
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman. Back
| 
