• Commission: Euromed and the Media (speech by Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner)

• EURO-MEDITERRANEAN SUMMIT: CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT: (27-28 Nov 2005)

• EURO-MEDITERRANEAN SUMMIT: FIVE YEAR WORK PROGRAMME

• EURO-MEDITERRANEAN SUMMIT: Code of Conduct on Countering Terrorism

(AGI) - Barcelona, Nov. 28 2005- Barcelona is an opportunity to "return unity to the Mediterranean" while strengthening cooperation with "a working and efficient fight against terrorism" and "an ordered management of migratory flow". With this appeal, King Juan Carlos opened the first Euro-Mediterranean summit. An agreement on the definition of terrorism to insert into the "code of conduct" has not yet been found, approval must be given leaders of the 25 member and 10 partner countries. Syria and other Arab countries are insisting that movements resisting occupation be excluded from this definition, a clear reference to the Palestinians. "We have all suffered at the hands of terrorism, be it Sharm-el-Sheikh, Madrid or London", said Javier Solana, EU foreign politics representative, "cooperation on this front is total".
:::::::::::::::::::
Delegates will focus mainly on enhanced cooperation in combating illegal immigration, international terrorism, and the extension of democracy in the region. Mr Zapatero will propose the appointment of a General Secretary for the region, the approval of a code of anti-terrorism practice, and an increase in EU subsidies to develop the region and control migration. Among other issues, the summit will also discuss ways Euro-Mediterranean partners may best work together in the following areas: justice, security, social integration, human rights, and measures to eradicate illiteracy, ensure women have equal education opportunities, and encourage student exchange programmes. Security is tight with a total force of 5,539 security agents deployed: 2,000 regional police (Mossos d'Esquadra), 1,700 National Police, 1,139 Guardia Civil and 500 local police officers.

Euromed: Agreement in Barcelona on an Anti-Terrorist Code of Conduct
Europarl - Bruxelles,Belgium
29-11-2005 - 12:00

EP President Borrell at Euromed Summit

"Inequality is greater between the two shores of the Mediterranean than anywhere else in the world,” so said Josep Borrell, President of the European Parliament, who did not hide his disappointment when making a critical assessment of 10 years of the Barcelona Process. Monday’s mixed outcome of the Euro-Mediterranean Summit, held in the Catalan capital, means that there is still some limited hope for closing the economic and social divide between both sides.

Euro-Med summit battles to agree on terrorism code

Of the Mediterranean-rim partner states, only Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan led highest-level delegations. The Barcelona summit was meant to be the first time that leaders of a group that includes Israelis and Palestinians as well as the 25 EU countries had met. Previous meetings of the Euro-Mediterranean group have been at foreign minister level. That undermined the prestige of a meeting which EU leaders wanted to extend cooperation across the Mediterranean to help combat terrorism and illegal immigration.
 

PM Lawrence Gonzi urges members to tackle the ever-increasing 'international crime'

Euro-Med summit discusses terrorism

By Roberta Scerri

BARCELONA, Malta (di-ve news) -- November 28, 2005 -- 1300CET - The Euro-Mediterranean Summit which kicked-off on Sunday in Barcelona, is focusing on terrorism. Ministers and leaders from the European Union together with those from Mediterranean countries have come together for the 10th time to try and enhance cooperation across the countries within the Mediterranean region as this will help in fighting the mayor existing problems.

During his speech at the summit on Monday, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi insisted for this cooperation to take place as this will help in the battle against illegal immigration within the region.

He said that the summit should tackle the ever-changing problems of poverty, criminality, terrorism, irregular immigration and human trafficking whilst referring to the latter as an 'international crime'.

Lawrence Gonzi said that one cannot look forward if not aware that it is everyone's interest to lessen trafficking which leads to irregular migration. He said that more is needed to solve the problem, as treating these persons in a just and human way is not enough.

Prime Minister insisted that the problems related with this issue should be addressed by all those involved not only by those countries who are taking on such a burden but also by those countries from where such illegal trips depart.

During his speech Lawrence Gonzi also said that Malta is proposing the setting up of a Network of centers around the Mediterranean which will help in managing and monitor the existing resources within the sea.

Meanwhile, various European leaders complained about the poor turnout of Arab leaders. Health and political problems have kept home Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon amongst others.

Euro-Med summit agrees on anti-terror moves

28 November 2005

BARCELONA - Leaders from the European Union, North Africa and the Middle East on Monday failed to agree on a "common vision" for future ties - but issued a joint statement vowing tougher moves to combat global terrorism.

In another partial success for the E.U., Arab governments agreed to work for political change, democracy and women's rights, and to cooperate with Europe on curbing illegal immigration.

Arab leaders made no formal comments to the press after the two- day meeting. But the E.U. hailed the summit as a sign of progress in the ten-year old Euro-Med partnership.

While Euro-Med meetings could not resolve differences between Arabs and Israelis, they could produce "practical results", British Prime Minister Tony Blair told reporters.
 

Agreement on a Euro-Med code of conduct on counter-terrorism was a significant achievement of the summit, said Blair, who chaired the meeting. Britain is current president of the 25-nation E.U.

The two-page code commits both sides to strengthen cooperation and coordination to respond to the global challenge of terrorism.

Both sides vowed to exchange information on a voluntary basis on terrorists and their support networks and to refuse asylum to terrorists.

They also promised to work within the United Nations to conclude an international agreement on terrorism, including a legal definition of terrorists' acts.

Rejecting suggestions that the counter-terror deal had been fudged because of Arab-Israeli differences, Blair said the accord represented a "very important moment" in relations between the European Union and countries in North Africa and the Middle East.

The was a "strong statement" of both sides' unified determination to fight terrorism "in all its forms," said Blair.

"It states very clearly that we are united in the struggle against terrorism and reiterates our total determination to eradicate and combat its sponsors," Blair added.

"Terrorism can never be justified and we confirm that we will continue to combat it in all its manifestations," he said.

While defining terrorism remained a problem, Blair insisted that a new "spirit" to fight extremist violence was emerging across the Arab and Muslim world.

All countries agreed that killing civilians did not help achieve political goals, he said, adding: "The code has been agreed by every country."

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said the anti- terror code was an "unprecedented" multilateral accord, adding: "Terrorism is a scourge we all suffer."

Both men insisted they were not linking extremist violence to Islam or any other religion.

But diplomats said the code of conduct had been watered down following Arab-Israeli differences over a reference to peoples' "right to self-determination and in that context to take lawful steps to realise that right".

"Success in confronting terrorism on the regional or international levels is contingent upon addressing its root causes and protecting the right of peoples under foreign occupation to resistance," Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shaara told the meeting.

Israel, however, objected to any mention of such a struggle, fearing it would endorse Palestinian extremist violence.

Middle East discord - this time over the definition of Israel's frontiers - also prevented summit endorsement of a "common vision" for peace and stability in the region.

Instead, Blair issued a unilateral statement calling for progress in Middle East peace efforts and the establishment of a Palestinian state living side by side with a secure Israel.

Blair admitted such a "chairman's statement" was needed to bridge the gulf between Arabs and Israelis on key Middle East issues.

The summit - called to celebrate ten years of Euro-Med cooperation - adopted a five-year work programme to promote political pluralism and democratic reform in the Middle East.

The blueprint said Arab nations would ensure freedom of expression, foster the role of civil society and promote women's rights.

Euro-Med partners include the 25 E.U. states as well as Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Lebanon and Syria. Libya has observer status and Turkey is also a member although it is negotiating E.U. membership.

DPA
 

Euro-Mediterranean summit opens in the absence of Arab head of states
www.arabmonitor.info

Barcelona, 27 November - The Euro-Mediterranean summit opened today to mark the 10th anniversary of the Conference of Barcelona that had been designed to launch a process of cooperation and steady integration between the European Union and the 10 countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean coastline, including Israel. While the Barcelona process had been launched with the aim of building a free trade area covering the European Union and the Mediterranean, a shift in Western countries' politics towards growing concerns about "terrorism" moved the issue of fighting off unwanted immigrants from the southern Mediterranean coast to Europe to the centre of this years agenda.

British officials had announced ahead of the summit that Great Britain would seek a commitment of European and Mediterranean countries to endorse a "Code of Conduct on Countering Terrorism" and Germany was already geared up to propose investment projects designed to link intelligence services and border police forces of Arab Mediterranean countries to a centralized security services agency to be set up for the European Union. However, the Euro-Mediterranean summit turned out to be a mainly European one, as none of the Arab head of states, besides Mahmoud Abbas representing the Palestinian Authority, showed up.

---

Key agreements in Euromed summit
http://english.aljazeera.net

Monday 28 November 2005, 22:24 Makka Time, 19:24 GMT  

Here are key points agreed to on Monday at a summit in Barcelona of the European Union's 25 member states with 10 Mediterranean-rim countries.

Terror

The 35 countries agreed to a code of conduct, which starts by declaring that they are "united in the struggle against terrorism", the threat of which "remains serious".

Concretely, they agreed to exchange intelligence, seek to cut off terrorists' funding and arms supplies, and help one another prepare for and manage the consequences of any attacks.

They also broached the root causes of terrorism, pledging to "do all we can to resolve conflict, end occupation, confront oppression, reduce poverty, promote good governance and human right, improve intercultural understanding and ensure respect for all religions".

Immigration

A series of measures were agreed upon in the context of a five-year work programme, which covers increasing political cooperation and social and educational exchanges.

Leaders in Barcelona initially disagreed on defining terrorism

The summit agreed to "promote legal migration opportunities ... recognising that these constitute an opportunity for economic growth and a means of improving links between countries".

They pledged to "reduce significantly the level of illegal migration, trafficking in human beings and loss of life through hazardous sea and border crossings".

Expanding relations

The 35 countries pledged "their renewed commitment to the objective of achieving a common area of peace, stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean region through ongoing dialogue, exchange and cooperation".

They called for a "rapid and full implementation" of the EU-backed "roadmap" for Mideast peace leading to "the fulfilment of the vision of two states, a safe and secure Israel and a viable, sovereign, contiguous, democratic Palestine, living side by side in peace and security".

They reiterated the aim of the original 1995 Barcelona Declaration, of creating a Euro-Mediterranean free trade area by 2010.

---

EU-Euromed summit fails to agree final declaration
By Daniel Dombey and Frederick Studemann in Barcelona
Published: November 28 2005 18:42 | Last updated: November 28 2005 18:42

The limits of the European Union’s influence were on Monday laid bare when a summit with countries bordering the Mediterranean to the south and east failed to agree a final declaration.

Nevertheless, Tony Blair, British prime minister, and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, his Spanish counterpart who co-hosted the summit, insisted progress had been made in deepening ties with the region and continuing the struggle against terrorism.

“I think that this is an area where semantic agreements are less important than shared spirit and determination,” said Mr Blair.

The 35 countries – the EU member states and their Euromed partners Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey – did endorse a previously negotiated five-year work plan on extending “political pluralism”, modernising the southern Mediterranean’s economies and reducing illegal migration.

They also backed a “code of conduct” intended to increase police and judicial co-operation against terrorist groups, but omitted a definition of “terrorism” the EU had worked on for months.

The EU provides the Euromed region with €3bn ($3.5bn, £2.1bn) a year in grants and loans, but none of the Arab heads of state who had been invited attended the meeting in Barcelona, sending prime ministers and foreign ministers instead.

Arab leaders were wary of attending an event that could be seen as cracking down on groups denounced as terrorists in the west but regarded as freedom fighters by many of their own people.

European leaders were relieved at not having to meet Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, and Lebanon’s President Emile Lahoud, who are the subjects of an international outcry over Syria's alleged involvement in the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister.

By contrast, the organisers’ hopes were hit hard by the absence of leaders such as Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah, both of whom are struggling with political challenges at home.

President Muammer Gad-affi of Libya spurned an invitation to attend as an observer, despite EU hopes of reaching a deal to release five Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death in Libya for allegedly infecting children with the HIV virus.

Also absent was President Abdulaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, who was undergoing treatment in a Paris clinic. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish prime minister, attended the event, as did almost all of the EU leaders.

A dispute between Israel and its Arab neighbours foiled last-minute attempts to agree a final declaration for the 35-nation summit. Israel, which will have early elections, wanted the text to emphasise its pull-out from Gaza and objected to a reference to an Arab peace initiative.

Instead, the conclusions of the meeting were summed up by a chairman’s statement by Britain and Spain.

“This is not binding to all parties; it’s a presidency declaration,” said an Israeli official. “What was binding were the documents which were accepted by consensus, the code of conduct and this five-years’ work plan.”

---

The EU has also poured some 9 billion euros of aid into the region and a similar amount in European Investment Bank loans.
 

The Mediterranean region has to be a strategic priority of the EU

Barcelona. The Mediterranean region has to be a strategic priority of the EU, French President Jacques Chirac said during the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Summit in Barcelona, AFP reported. The French Head of State called for observing the financial commitments of the EU to the Mediterranean states and for allotting additional funds for the cooperation in the sphere of migration processes. The Mediterranean states are afraid that the EU financial aid will be diverted to the favor of the new EU member states from eastern Europe.

Terror definition causes trouble at EU-Mediterranean summit

28.11.2005 - 09:59 CET | By Teresa Küchler

EU ministers and ten Mediterranean nations gathered in Barcelona for a two-day summit failed on Sunday (27 November) to agree on a code of conduct against terrorism and a joint statement on the Middle East peace process.

European leaders stressed that the conference is an opportunity for muslim countries to join them in condemning terrorism and establishing a code of conduct to counter terror between the EU and its Euromed (Euro-Mediterranean) partners.

The Euromed group involves Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey.

However, initial efforts to create a code have been troubled by disagreements over how to define terms, with some muslim states wanting to differentiate between terrorism and what they see as legitimate resistance to occupation by a foreign military force.

Spain and the UK still hope to announce a common conclusion when the gathering ends on Monday.

To the disappointment of hosts Spain and the UK presidency, only two of the ten Mediterranean partners - Turkey and the Palestinian authority - sent heads of government to the two-day conference in Barcelona, aiming at strengthening political and socio-economic links between the 25 EU member states and their southern neighbours.

"They have lost a historic opportunity to demonstrate their support for democratic reforms and the fight against terrorism", representatives of the Spanish government stated, according to ABC.

The two attending leaders of the EU Mediterranean partners - Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan and the leader of the Palestinian authority Mahmud Abbas - used the occasion to press their respective agendas for EU membership and the Middle East peace process.

Arab diplomats at the summit said some leaders, such as Tunisian president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, preferred to stay home rather than be lectured by the Europeans on democracy, human rights and freedom of expression, according to Spanish media.

Optimism for Monday
Faced with a probable summit breakdown over terrorism, diplomats in Barcelona suggested that the delegations might abandon the subject, so as not to "contaminate" the other issues to be dealt with at the meeting.

Attending delegations started on late Sunday evening to concentrate efforts on pending subjects, like a five-year working program for the region, including the establishment of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade zone, opening up trade for services and agricultural goods.

Another focus of the meeting was finding common ways to combat illegal immigration to the EU, with justice commissioner Franco Frattini suggesting that the EU's five Mediterranean member states - Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Malta - should increase co-operation to form a Mediterranean naval coastal brigade.

Euromed Partnership
A Summit for the future

By Tony Blair
Ten years ago in Barcelona, the countries of the European Union and the Mediterranean region met to forge the new Euromed Partnership. Today, in the same city, the leaders of 35 countries meet for the first time for an extraordinary Summit to discuss how we extend and deepen the Barcelona Process. It is vital we succeed.

We face shared challenges and new threats. Our region and world are ever more closely linked. The scourge of terrorism has hit us all – in Casablanca, Djerba, Istanbul, Israel, Madrid and London, and recently in Sharm el-Sheikh and Amman. Migration is a source of strength when legal but damaging when uncontrolled or, even worse, organised by criminal gangs.

People trafficking like the trade in drugs knows no borders. But the flows of people are also driven by the huge disparities in wealth and opportunity, by lack of security, democracy and civil rights. We need to agree on ways to better manage migration flows for the benefit of all the countries involved as well as legal migrants.

All of this is on the agenda today. And we can point to progress over the last decade in ensuring that we in Europe look outwards, not inwards and recognising that we all gain from greater security and prosperity throughout the region.

The EU has expanded, in the process helping to bring security and development to a larger portion of the map of Europe. Cyprus and Malta, Mediterranean countries themselves, have already joined. Turkey is now a candidate for membership.

EU enlargement, the New Neighbourhood Policy and the Barcelona Process have built stronger political and trading relationships between both shores of the Mediterranean. But we need to do more, do better and do it faster.

We have also provided opportunities, throughout the highs and lows of the peace process, for Israel, Palestine and their neighbours to meet and work jointly towards a just and lasting peace in the region. The EU remains committed, despite all the obstacles, to supporting the quest for peace.

We are helping to improve the economic prospects of Palestinians and to build the institutions of a Palestinian state, including electoral support and public sector reform. We have just agreed to provide a third party monitoring mission for the Gaza/Egypt border. And, through the Quartet, we will continue to strive for an early implementation of the Roadmap, which will lead to two democratic states living side by side in peace and security.

But there is no room for complacency. The Barcelona Process has contributed to setting in motion the process of political and economic reform but human rights are yet to be respected fully everywhere and civil society has still to flourish throughout the Mediterranean as sought.

There is wide consensus in the Arab world that it is necessary to intensify modernisation and gradually adapt legal frameworks and administrative practices to the needs of citizens, as well as of domestic and foreign investors.

The gap in prosperity between the EU and its southern neighbours has widened, not narrowed over the last decade, fuelling frustration and greater migration. And we know that in the next twenty years dozens of millions of jobs will need to be created to provide a decent future to the Southern Mediterranean youth.

So today we must take the urgent decisions needed to consolidate our achievements and tackle these pressing challenges. We need to do more to foster economic reform, encourage investment and eliminate barriers to trade between us. It is equally vital that we ensure better access to quality education for all, particularly women and young people.

Today's Summit should renew our political commitment to these goals, with agreement on concrete measures to help achieve better governance and faster growth, backed with substantial financial support from the EU. We should also ensure more effective co-operation against terrorism.

As a true partnership, the Barcelona Process requires consensus to move forward. But it is essential we do move forward. Future generations would not forgive us should we fail today to make a real difference to the lives of hundreds of millions of people across the region – through increased security, investment, prosperity, trade and educational opportunity.

Tony Blair is UK's Premier. This article was sent to Morocco Times by the British Embassy in Rabat.

Silvan Shalom, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs

/noticias.info/ A decade ago, the Barcelona Declaration stated that members of the process are “convinced that the general objective of turning the Mediterranean basin into an area of dialogue, exchange and cooperation guaranteeing peace, stability and prosperity requires a strengthening of democracy and respect for human rights, sustainable and balanced economic and social development, measures to combat poverty and promotion of greater understanding between cultures, which are all essential aspects of partnership”.

Peace, stability and prosperity for the Mediterranean basin are the declaration’s main goals. Israel, in the spirit of the Barcelona Declaration, saw the Barcelona process then as it does today, as an important and a correct means to fulfilling Israel’s long-standing dream. Our dream is to live in peace, understanding, tolerance and cooperation with all our neighbors. The road towards this goal is stated in the same declaration: dialogue, exchange and cooperation.

Israel shares the new ideas and initiatives put forth and accepted unanimously at the Luxemburg Euro-Med Conference in May 2005, promoting political and economic reform, human rights and education, through concrete and measurable actions. Nevertheless, we feel it is necessary to return to the essential ideas that are the driving force and the raison d’etre of the Barcelona process.

In our view, the Barcelona process framework is the ideal framework for breaking old stereotypes, misguided myths and erroneous beliefs between nations. In other words, it can serve to prepare the ground and the hearts for peace and cooperation.

Israel has recently completed its disengagement from the Gaza region as well as from four villages in northern Samaria. Disengagement was meant to be the turning point necessary to create a change in the stalled political process between Israel and the Palestinians. The momentum created by this move should be used in order to create a constituency for peace in our region. It should serve to empower the moderate forces and further isolate the extremists bent on continuing the cycle of violence.

The Barcelona process can and should serve as the catalyst for as many projects as possible in those areas in which we can identify interests common to us all. Beyond the clear and immediate benefits of such projects, they can also serve as excellent confidence-building measures (CBM’s). History has shown us more than once the ability of CBM’s in promoting mutual understanding, tolerance and collaboration. Furthermore, the benefits of these projects are supposed to serve as tangible proof of the “fruits of peace” and to increase public interest in reaching the goals set forth by the Barcelona Declaration.

In the last decade, Israel has tried, through its governmental and non-governmental representatives, to show the highest level of involvement in any possible cooperation. We are not starting from zero - Israel’s participation in regional projects dates back to the first days of the Barcelona process :

Within the political-security basket Israel is involved very actively in the Development of a Euro-Mediterranean System of Mitigation, Prevention and Management of Natural and Man-made Disasters project, which recently went into the implementation phase. Within the regional economic cooperation basket, in the framework of strengthening commercial relations with Jordan and the EU, we signed a Pan-European Accumulation agreement.

Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the EU signed an agreement to open a Joint Energy Office and a Joint Transportation Office in order to establish common projects with EU backing.

Israel’s Minister of Communications participated in the first Euro-Med conference of Communications Ministers.

Within the social-cultural basket, projects included: the Euro-Med Youth Exchange Program, the Medea program, eight projects in the framework of the Euro-Med Heritage programs. Israelis were also involved in education and training programs as well as in the EUMedis program involving information society.

The highlight of this basket, in our view, was the establishment of the “Anna Lind Foundation” for inter-cultural dialogue. Israel was among the first supporters of this project and among the first to pledge financial backing for the foundation.

Now we must look to the future.

Those who claim that the main obstacle before advancing in the Barcelona process is the stalemate in the Middle East peace process, represent an attitude that prevents the parties to the Barcelona process from fulfilling its full potential. The Euromesco report of February 2005 states the following:

“…political dialogue and CBM’s are designed to facilitate efforts at conflict resolution. If CBM’s are held hostage to conflict resolution, the logic of the measures goes to waste. Thus, the conditionality that has been accepted in the EMP is the EXACT OPPOSITE of what these measures are designed to achieve.”

It matters not what the main objectives of the members of the Barcelona process are: peace and prosperity, democratization, economic reforms, human rights, empowerment of civil society or other goals. In any case, we must focus on maximizing the potential inherent in the Barcelona process in order to support the advancement of the peace process. The way to achieve this goal is through as many CBM’s as possible, as long as they are varied and available to all.

In recent months, we can again feel the winds of cautious optimism blowing throughout our region. We are hopeful that maybe this time all sides will join us and show a real will to reach the peace, stability and prosperity that have eluded us for too long, that are still close and yet out of reach.

We hereby call on all the members of the Barcelona process: For peace, let us work together in order to create a social, cultural and economic infrastructure for the immediate welfare and long-term fulfillment of the vision of the Barcelona Declaration. “It is about bringing peoples together through regional cooperation, partnership and dialogue” (Euromesco report).

Let us move from a “lose-lose” situation to one of “win-win” from which we can all benefit.

The present document showcases Israel’s vision for the future of the Barcelona process. It is a concrete vision that can be implemented immediately. It is a vision that can be translated into concrete action whose results are measurable within a few years or less as long as we maintain a number of conditions:

* A focus on regional activities, open to all and in a constructive atmosphere, in order to build CBM’s that will address the common needs of all those involved;
* A repeated pledge by all participants to uphold the guiding principles of the Barcelona Declaration - dialogue, exchange and cooperation;
* A joint (north-south) management of the process.

In the next pages we will present a number of ideas and initiatives that are true to the spirit described above. These are ideas which Israel would like to continue and develop together with other countries who will find them interesting, with a view to the future of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership.


Promoting Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

The economic crises down the years have seriously affected governments’ ability to assist the vulnerable sectors in grassroots communities (children, youth, elderly, handicapped and especially women).

The aim of the proposed project is to contribute to poverty reduction through socio-economic development programs, by empowering women and promoting gender equality through an inclusive approach.

The idea is to implement, within five years, a comprehensive human resources development program with emphasis on gender in selected countries in the Mediterranean basin and Middle East.

Professionals, who have trained in Israel and in their own settings in such regions, will have acquired the necessary skills and capacity to manage “community driven” development programs and thereby enhance the material resources and human capital of their target population.

With regard to our long experience in this field, we propose:

* To institute gender mainstreaming through ‘tailormade’ training programs - workshops and seminars on topics such as: women’s leadership, participation of women in the labor market, creation of businesses by women, and support systems for women entrepreneurs.

* Empowerment through networking.
By building working links with the Women’s Mediterranean Forum, MCTC/MASHAV has been able to develop networks and programs for the empowerment of women in the Mediterranean basin. It is suggested that the next congress of that Forum be held in Israel (2007), within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.


Emergency and Trauma System

A disaster is defined as “a catastrophic event which, relative to the manpower and resources available, overwhelms a healthcare facility and usually occurs in a short period of time.” Year after year thousands of people around the world die from natural disasters, and millions more are injured. Apart from the human suffering, the financial damages incurred by natural catastrophes are estimated at billions of dollars annually.

Governments and relevant organizations need to learn to operate and respond quickly and efficiently to these disasters. Over the years, Israel has had to learn to deal with disasters and has built up a professional response to urgent medical demands. Therefore, Israel proposes programs and workshops dealing specifically in emergency medicine and trauma.

* Developing and Organizing a Trauma System
The program of studies will include: comprehending the continuity of treatment of trauma patients in a trauma system, studying the structures involved in the various phases of treatment, and developing a specific model of a trauma system suitable to the participants’ countries of origin.

* International Training Course for Nurses in Emergency Room Nursing and Trauma Care
This course offers nurses continuing education in emergency room nursing and multi-trauma injuries. The course will include, among other topics: exposure to new methods and approaches, medical and nursing techniques in the treatment of patients, triage principles, nursing intervention and treatment, and principles of initial first aid in emergency situations and in life-saving skills.


Counter-Terrorism Research Center (CTRC)

The goal of the CTRC will be to address the importance of counterterrorism and to offer an opportunity for better understanding the terrorism phenomena by encouraging joint research projects on this crucial issue.

The CTRC will initiate seminars, workshops and conferences, and help to bring together national research centers, scholars and students from the region, while contributing to their interaction and enabling them to share experiences and knowledge.

The first stage for creating the CTRC will be to set up a Counter-Terrorism Research Fund (CTRF) that will dedicate itself to the establishing of the center and will offer scholarships for researchers to advance joint projects on the topic of counterterrorism.


Cooperation in the Field of Technological Innovation

An enhanced cooperation program is proposed in the field of technological innovation, a field of great importance for the prosperity of all the countries in the Mediterranean region.

In this regard, based on Israel’s extensive experience in the development of “technological incubators”, the suggestion is to have an exchange program aimed at assisting the setting up of similar incubators in other countries of the partnership. This can be achieved through meetings of policymakers, seminars and educational and vocational activities.

In these activities, special emphasis should be given to the younger generation.

What is a Technological Incubator?

A technological incubator is an organization established to provide a supportive and protective environment for individual inventors and entrepreneurs, so that technological innovations can be developed into business ventures.

It provides a framework and support for nascent companies to develop their innovative technological ideas and form new business ventures that can attract private investors.

The program is opened to private investors so that they can become owners of the incubators and invest in the nascent companies at an earlier stage, thus enabling a greater return on their investment.

The main objective of the government in supporting such a program is to help entrepreneurs during the seed stage of a project by assuming the role of a private investor in this very risky stage of business development.


Cooperation in the Field of Health Systems Management

In the western world the last ten years have been characterized by a clear tendency of using an economic approach in the process of decision-making in the public health system.

In Israel, since the implementation in 1995 of the Public Health Law, much experience and knowledge has been accumulated in the field of health systems management, in the domain of credible available data as well as parameters of efficiency and management of complex health systems.

The proposal is to develop cooperation in the field of health systems management, a domain of great importance for the welfare of the population in all the countries of the Mediterranean region.

The idea is to share the Israeli experience in confronting the issue of how to use the limited resources which exist for financing health expenses versus the needs that are ever increasing due to different factors that include, among many, the aging of the population, the decrease in infant mortality, expensive technological developments, and preventive medicine.

Practically, the proposal is to organize a seminar which will deal with such issues as: establishment of unified and comparable data systems for all the public hospitals, efficient use of the public health system, multi-year planning of the national health system, etc.

This proposal was presented for the first time at the Euro-Med Forum on Health, held in Barcelona on November 14-15.


The Fight Against Desertification in the Middle East

In order to stop the damage caused to the soil as well as rehabilitate the fertility of dryland regions in the Middle East, it is recommended to establish mechanisms of regional cooperation in technology, research and training in the fields of grazing, afforestation, use of marginal waters, and preservation of propagating material.

Israel can provide the researchers and the research infrastructures, assist in training, cooperate in sustainable development projects of dryland regions, and transfer knowledge via MASHAV. It is also suggested that a research fund be established for applicable research in “sustainable development of dryland regions in the Middle East” where experts from countries in the region can compete.


Mediterranean Musical Dialogue - Musical Project

The Mediterranean is not only a geographical and historical area, but also an imaginary cultural space comprising a diversity of identities and cultures. The dialogue between these different cultures has created a unique texture that may be called the Mediterranean Culture.

Because of its abstract nature, music serves as an ideal tool for such dialogue.

Each musical tradition around the Mediterranean has its own unique identity. Yet they share many common elements.

The proposal is to organize in Israel or in another neighboring country a four-day dialogue with the participation of musicians (instrumentalists, vocalists and composers) from all Mediterranean countries. The dialogue, conducted as a series of interrelated workshops, would aim to create an exchange of ideas among musicians who create in a “Mediterranean” spirit, i.e. by combining elements from their different musical cultures while at the same time learning the principles of their venerable traditions.

Mediterranean Literary Meetings & Workshops

The annual event that is proposed will constitute a platform for active encounters introducing authors, translators, publishers and media experts from Mediterranean countries to their European counterparts.

Workshops will explore the influence of the Mediterranean landscape, atmosphere, culture, history and languages on the various literatures.

Translation workshops will deal with specific factors which affect reciprocal translation between Mediterranean languages such as cultural backgrounds, linguistic sources, ancient scripts and cultures, translation policies, and bibliographic data exchange.

Further discussions may deal with the role of the writer in the respective countries.

The proposed encounter will further include readings of poetry and prose by leading authors who will make use of translations, which are either already published or are done in the workshops.

It is proposed that the event be repeated on an annual basis, each time in a different participating country, in order to create an ongoing literary platform for discussing Mediterranean literatures.


Cinema - Regional Projects

Between the years 2001-2003, 13 Israeli projects (8 documentaries and 5 fictional films) received full support from MEDEA, amounting to a total of 294,000 EUR, thus providing an excellent and rare opportunity to establish relations with fellow filmmakers from Europe and the Mediterranean.

Israel would like to continue co-operation with European and Mediterranean partners and thus proposes the following projects:

Immigrants Around the Sea

A workshop targeted for documentary filmmakers who are working on their first films, and who were not born in the country in which they live and create. The workshop will look into the human and social experience of immigration, cultural identity, and other themes.

Each participating country will produce its own films and will receive films made by the other participants all of which will be broadcasted on national television networks.

A Mediterranean Kids Film Festival

A festival aimed at encouraging the dialogue between the younger generations in the Mediterranean through filmmaking.

Children from the participating countries will be invited to tell their own story using the cinema as their storyboard. The young filmmakers will be invited to present their films and to meet fellow directors.


Education for Tolerance

Human history is rife with examples of man’s inhumanity to man. The attempt to learn from the past is no guarantee that similar atrocities will not be committed in the future. We must engage in a daily battle to eradicate racism, discrimination and incitement.

Every state is obligated to teach its citizens, especially the children, tolerance and respect for others. The main way to accomplish this is through the school system. In today’s world, the media plays an increasingly central role in shaping society, for good and for bad. We must confront the possibilities as well as the threats that our many-faceted, “online” world presents.

The seminar that is proposed will take place at an institution that deals with these issues every day of the year - Yad Vashem, The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority. Alternatively, the seminar could be held in another location, aided by or under the professional guidance of Yad Vashem.

The seminar is intended for senior educators and journalists from Europe and the Mediterranean.

The two or three-day seminar will consist of three sessions:

* Education for tolerance in the school system (this could focus on a particular geographic area - Europe, for instance - or a particular group, such as high school students).
* Incitement in the media, with an emphasis on satellite broadcasting and the Internet.
* Case studies - teaching the Holocaust at Yad Vashem.

It would be possible to incorporate - at this seminar or future ones - a workshop/brainstorming session that will produce curricula or practical recommendations to be passed on to the relevant bodies in each country for implementation.
 

28/11/2005 Palestinian National Authority

BARCELONA, November 28, 2005 (IPC+WAFA) - President Mahmoud Abbas called on Europe to continue efforts to play a major part in the implementation of the Road Map and the realization of President Bush's vision of a two-state solution.

Addressing on Monday the 10th Euro-Mediterranean Summit in Barcelona, President Abbas said "the situation that the Palestinian people continue going through requires further emphasis on the importance and necessity of continued efforts by the European side to play a major role in the implementation of the Road Map and the realization of the vision of President Bush and a return to the track of political negotiations towards the achievement of a just and comprehensive peace and the resolution of all the final status issues and the realization of the creation of the Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capital."

"We are committed to preserving the calm and security control and to holding the parliamentary elections on time, in order to revive the political life, to build democratic institutions, and to enhance the rule of law," the President added "we also look forward to the assistance of the European side in this difficult mission, especially in the electoral process, and the intervention with Israel to facilitate holding these elections in all the Palestinian areas, including East Jerusalem."

Hereby is the full text of President's statement:

Mr. President Zapatero, Mr. President Blair

"Allow me to express our deepest gratitude and appreciation for the warm welcome and generous hospitality that we have received from the moment we arrived to the beautiful city of Barcelona, this city that witnessed the first Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and which produced the peace process between Palestine and Israel.

There is no doubt that the Barcelona process created some important changes in the international arena, both on the Arab and European sides, which requires continuing our cooperative efforts and advancing this partnership with all available means, so that it remains adaptable to the development and requirements of the era and will be capable of confronting all kinds of challenges and dangers in the region.

It is an important occasion to revive this 10th anniversary, and on a presidential level, with the presidency of both the United Kingdom and Spain. In this regard, we appreciate the important role that Spain has played in laying the foundations for the valuable Arab-Euro Mediterranean relationships.

The importance of this summit lies in the fact that it came after years of continuous and hard work for strengthening the principles and concepts that have been agreed upon at the first Barcelona Summit, and then translated into agreements and memorandums in reality on the ground via clear work programs on all dimensions.

The effective participation of the Palestinian National Authority(PNA), since the launch of the Barcelona process, stems from our strong and genuine belief in the importance of the path which aims at serving the interests of the relevant parties, and creating a true, positive and efficient reality out of the partnership, contributing to a high degree to enhancement of rapprochement and to bringing together the peoples and governments of the European and Mediterranean countries, as well as contributing to setting the basis for peace, security and stability in the Middle East region.

Peace that is based on the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy, including the right of the Palestinian people to establish their independent State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the territories that were occupied in 1967, and this is what has deepened the trust of the Palestinian people in the will of the international community that is supportive of its struggle and quest to achieve their freedom and independence.

The situation that the Palestinian people continue to be subjected to requires added emphasis on the importance and necessity of continued efforts by the European side to play a major role in the implementation of the Road Map and the realization of the vision of President Bush and a return to the track of political negotiations towards the achievement of a just and comprehensive peace and the resolution of all the final status issues and the realization of the creation of the Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Israeli withdrawal from within the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank marks an important move towards ending the Israeli occupation of these territories. However, the success of this move is linked to a prompt and serious solution to all the outstanding issues after the withdrawal. In this regard, the agreement on movement and access is a positive development in the right direction, and the European role, through its participation as a third party at the Rafah crossing border, has a big impact in making this agreement a success, and we opened the border to the population as of 25 November 2005.

We, in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), are committed to preserving the cooling-off (ceasefire) and security control and to holding the parliamentary elections on time, in order to revive the political life, to build democratic institutions, and to enhance the rule of law. We also look forward to the assistance of the European side in this difficult mission, especially in the electoral process, and the intervention with Israel to facilitate holding these elections in all the Palestinian areas, including East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian question is the core of the conflict in the region, and a huge responsibility rests with the international community for the implementation of the resolutions of international legitimacy, which guarantee our Palestinian people their legitimate rights. We do believe that the Arab Peace Initiative constitutes a framework that positively contributes to solving the Arab-Israeli conflict and reaching a comprehensive peace.

The terrorist attacks that have befallen our fraternal country, Jordan, lately, in which their victims were all innocent people, came because of blind terror, and we strongly condemn it. It requires that we all cooperate and work together to combat this phenomenon, including remedying the causes that stimulate such terrorist acts.

In conclusion, we convey our deep gratitude to the European Union for its constant support of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). We hope that this support will continue positively for the benefit of the Palestinian people, allowing them to create their independent democratic Palestinian State.

It is our wish that our neighbor, Europe, will continue to play a substantial and effective role in support of peace and stability in the Mediterranean Sea region, based on respect for international law in all fields, enhancement of dialogue, strengthening of cooperation and cultural interaction, and respect for the other so that we can build upon what has been achieved over the past ten years for a more bright future."

Two-day Euro-Mediterranean summit starts badly

At a news conference on Sunday, Blair, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Josi Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission spoke of the importance of economic progress in Palestine and the role of the EU monitors at the Rafah border crossing.

European Union leaders opened a two-day summit with their Mediterranean neighbours on Sunday. The aim in Barcelona is to find common ground on terrorism and progress on democratic reform in return for continued aid and increasing trade. The meeting started badly when only two of the ten leaders from outside the EU arrived in Spain. Diplomats working behind the scenes faced a deadline of Monday noon to come with common conclusions between nations as diverse as Syria and Britain. British Prime Minister Tony Blair is the summit host. At a news conference on Sunday, Blair, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Josi Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission spoke of the importance of economic progress in Palestine and the role of the EU monitors at the Rafah border crossing. "It is the Rafah I think, it is a historic achievement for the European Union because it shows the European Union has the trust and confidence of the partners there" said Barroso. Meanwhile on Sunday, Abbas held talks with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert.  EITB24

European Parliament calls for Barcelona Process achievements

www.chinaview.cn  2005-11-28 20:44:56

    BARCELONA, Nov. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- European Parliament President Josep Borrell Fontelles on Monday called on its members to work harder to tackle the challenges outlined in the 10-year-old Barcelona Process. "Despite 3 billion euros a year of community investment, Europe' s border with the Mediterranean remains the most unequal border in the world," Borrell Fontelles told leaders from the European Union (EU) and the Mediterranean states. The Barcelona Process was initiated in 1995 when foreign ministers from both shores of the Mediterranean vowed to enhance cooperation in peace and security, economic and trade links and cultural exchanges in the region. "I also have to point out that 10 years of the Barcelona Process has not taken us very far down the road to a common area of peace and prosperity," he added.

    Borrell Fontelles, who also chairs the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, said that the parliament considered the progress on democracy and human rights insufficient and demanded a regular assessment mechanism. He also said that trade relations between the EU and its southern neighbors were extremely one-sided, adding that the EU had doubled its trade surplus with the Mediterranean countries from 15 million dollars in 1990 to 29 billion dollars in 2003. "It is clear that the gap between both shores could become a permanent fracture," warned Borrell Fontelles. The parliament's president urged national leaders to show political will to tackle challenges in inequality, migration, the environment and terrorism. "Our objective will not be achieved without continual and sustained pressure by everyone to achieve them," he added. The EuroMed partnership brings together the 25 EU member states and 10 Mediterranean partner countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey.

BULGARIAN OFFICIALS AT EURO-MEDITERRANEAN SUMMIT

On Sunday the Euro-Mediterranean summit began in Barcelona with strict security measures in force. Bulgaria's Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev and Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin are attending the meeting. The forum is important for Bulgaria because the country expects to receive the official support of other countries in regard to the trial of the Bulgarian nurses in Libya. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and leaders of strategically important Arab countries did not attend the opening session of the summit, mediapool.bg reported.
Some of the topics under discussion include co-operation in the fight against illegal migration, and anti-terrorist measures. Stanishev is expected to speak today on one of the key topics - the trial of the Bulgarian nurses sentenced to death in Libya. The EU is expected to again confirm its support for the Bulgarians. At the same time, Bulgarian ambassador in Tripoli Zdravko Velev met the nurses in the Judeida prison. He briefed the Bulgarians about steps by Bulgarian institutions to achieve a positive outcome of the trial. The nurses are healthy but worried about the latest developments in the trial, Velev said.

Around 1500 demonstrate against Euro-Mediterranean summit

The demonstrators marched from the Plaza de Catalunya, in the heart of Barcelona's city centre, to the regional Spanish parliament headquarters. Around 1500 people marched through Barcelona to protest against the first Euro-Mediterranean Summit of Heads of State and Government, which opened in the Catalan city today November 27. The demonstrators - a mix of local political activists, campaigners on Third World issues, immigrant groups and supporters of Palestine - marched from the Plaza de Catalunya, in the heart of Barcelona's city centre, to the regional Spanish parliament headquarters.The meeting of the 25 European Union (EU) states, ten of the bloc's Mediterranean rim and Middle East neighbours, four EU candidates and Libya and Mauritania - who have observer status - is designed to breathe new life into regional relations.But the summit was dealt a blow before it even started with many government leaders from northern Africa and the Middle East expected to skip the meeting due to domestic issues. The gathering is the only forum bringing together Israel and Palestinians, but definite absentees will include Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Moroccan King Mohamed VI, Jordan's King Abdullah II and the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon. Of the ten leaders from outside the EU only two were expected to appear for the opening ceremony. The meeting is meant to promote dialogue and co-operation on issues such as trade, migration, environment, and security. At the top of the summit's agenda is the drafting of an anti-terrorism code starting from a widely accepted definition of 'terrorism'. British Prime Minister Tony Blair will co-host the summit as current EU president with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The meeting celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership that was also launched in Barcelona.

EU summit lures disparate duo of street rallies

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Euro-Med partners fail to agree

By Nada Bakri
Special to The Daily Star

BEIRUT: The Barcelona Declaration and the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership did not succeed in creating a circle of Mediterranean countries that share effective political and economic relations, according to Patrick Renauld, head of the European Union delegation. Renauld was speaking at La Sagesse University on the second day of a three-day event organized by the EU to mark the 10th anniversary of the Barcelona Declaration and the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. Participants at the event will assess cooperation between Lebanese civil society and the European Commission through simulation exercises of drafting and negotiating action plans. Renauld said the failure of south Mediterranean countries to improve their political, economic and social status had hindered the implementation of effective reforms. He also listed major political and economic asymmetry between these countries and the EU as another factor holding the process back. "Courage, willingness and political interest which are essential to granting this partnership its true role were often missing," he said.

However, the EU official admitted the Barcelona Declaration and Euro-Med partnership had positive impacts. He said bilateral relations between EU and southern Mediterranean countries had improved, and that this partnership was not only present among diplomats and officials but also among merchants, journalists, judges, researchers and others. "All these exchanges positively increased during those 10 years and we can affirm that comprehension and acceptance of the other is increasing gradually despite the serious problem of integration that certain societies suffer from," he explained. Renauld said ways to reactivate the Euro-Med Partnership are conditional to the political engagement of each European country that pushes forward reforms. "This partnership should be an integral part of the foreign relations strategy of each European country," he said.  "We believe the European Neighborhood Policy will enrich the Barcelona Declaration," he added.

But, he stressed that success in achieving the Euro-Med objectives - of peace, stability, shared prosperity and respect for the other - is conditional to the participation of all stakeholders. Social Affairs Minister Nayla Mouawad said the EU Neighborhood Policy will push Lebanon toward a better future. "We're aware of the potential this partnership offers us and we decided to deploy all our efforts to make it fruitful," she said. Mouawad said the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership contains equally important political, economic and social aspects. "This partnership guarantees political and individual liberties, and encourages free exchange and modernization of the economy. Dialogue and intercultural exchange support understanding and acceptance of the other," she said. "Today Lebanon reiterates its determination to collaborate with the EU within the framework of the EU Neighborhood Policy," she said. "We are preparing to negotiate the action plan" proposed by Lebanon's civil society and financed by the EU. The plan includes reforms of the judicial, economic, social and environmental sectors.

Copyright (c) 2005 The Daily Star

Everybody needs good neighbours

The Hassan II Mosque

On the eve of the tenth anniversary of the Barcelona Process, Euromed is being held back by the ambivalence of the EU faced with the human rights situation in its partner countries. And yet in 1995, following the end of the Cold War, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership fully intended to meet the challenges of the Southern Mediterranean countries with new and innovative strategies. Immigration, water, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, regional conflicts – all these issues were to be dealt with in a supportive and multilateral context. The objective was clear: to create a “zone characterised by peace, prosperity, and mutual understanding between peoples.”

From conflicts to concessions

This objective remains highly relevant, given the number of persistent conflicts in the region. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has not ceased to poison relations between the Euromed partners; when the Second Intifada broke out in September 2000, the limits of the Euromed dialogue became abundantly clear. The Syrian and Lebanese delegations simply boycotted the Ministerial Conferences in Marseille (2000) and in Valencia (2002), in protest of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. Professor Manuela Moschella, from the University of Catania in Italy, points out that the only accords agreed on recently have relied on American leadership: the Sharm el-Sheikh  summit (1999), the Taba agreeement (1995), the Mitchell Plan (2002) etc. Moreover, the thorny conflict over Western Sahara continues to be a major obstacle to good relations between countries of North Africa, given that tensions between Morocco and Algeria are still running high on that issue.

Terrorism is another difficult problem. The EU has adopted a Code of Good Conduct in the fight against terrorism, which it will present to its Southern Mediterranean partners at the anniversary summit of the Barcelona Process. It hopes that this code will help these countries to become more responsible about managing terrorism. The EU’s Euromed policy is often discredited by various diplomatic trade-offs, where a blind eye is turned to human rights standards in exchange for concessions on security objectives. The question for countries like France and Spain is, do they really want to push their neighbours towards democracy when such steps would undoubtedly bring instability in terms of security and immigration flows?

Pick and mix reforms

Faced with the failures of Euromed, the EU hopes to reform its strategy. Launched in 2003, the new European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) attempts to manage the EU’s extended borders and be complementary to the Barcelona Process. The key concept is a return to bilateral agreements with its near neighbours. The Middle East is situated next to the countries of the Southern Caucasus as well as Belarus, including countries from Moldova to the Ukraine. It is a more or less heterogeneous collection of countries, towards which the EU tries to balance the desire to ensure a ‘circle of friends’ with the desire to avoid any promises of accession to the EU. Securing relations with the Mediterranean also includes benchmarking, in other words, action plans negotiated with each country, establishing a clear list of responsibilities.

As for the neighbourhood programme, it involves reciprocal obligations to support common values, such as the rule of law, good governance and respect for human rights. The fight against terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction also feature on the agenda of the European Neighbourhood Policy, which is founded on the principles of market economy and sustainable development. All that sounds great, as long as the ENP does not become a mere placebo, diffusing the mistrust of its partners to the South, whose products and citizens do not always have the right to freely circulate in the Euro-Mediterranean space.

Education and dialogue

The Commission has also released new objectives for Euromed, such as education. It plans to increase its budget for education in the region by 50%, calling it a “human security” approach, given that more than a third of the population of its Southern Mediterranean partners is under the age of 15. Another change is the advent of dialogue with Islamic religious groups. In the past, the Barcelona Process has favoured dialogue with the autocratic elites and secular civil society. Nevertheless, at the Luxemburg summit in May 2005, the member states acknowledged that the diffusion of democratic values would not be effective without the inclusion of moderate Islamist groups.

But the pious political declarations must be accompanied by the financial means to accomplish them. For the moment, the ENP has a budget of only 15 million euros for the period 2007-2013, i.e. 10% of the EU’s budget for external activities. Moreover, the EU must learn to allow Mediterranean countries to contribute more to the definition of the reform agenda, which is currently determined in Brussels more than in Cairo, Damascus, or Rabat.
 

Euromed partnership hit by Mideast absences  

European and Mediterranean-rim leaders have gathered in Barcelona for a first-ever summit between the regions, but the absence of most Mideast chiefs clouded hopes of relaunching a 10-year-old partnership.

The summit is designed to bolster political and socio-economic links between the 25 European Union states and 10 of their southern neighbours, but only two of the Arab partners and Israel sent their heads of state.

Summit co-host British Prime Minister Tony Blair hoped to focus the two-day gathering on immigration and the fight against terrorism.

But after Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika added his name to the mushrooming absentee list overnight, there was increasing speculation about the reasons behind the no-show.

"The Arabs turn their back on Barcelona," said the conservative daily La Razon, although most of the EU's partner nations were to be represented at senior ministerial level.

"Definition of terrorism hits Barcelona summit," added the El Pais daily in a front-page headline, suggesting that Spanish and British attempts to slant the talks toward terrorism rather than development had annoyed partner states.

News that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had pulled out Saturday was accompanied by reports from Egypt that political circumstances at home and the wider region -- an apparent reference to the controversy over alleged Syrian involvement in the February assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri -- had forced his hand.

Of the Mideast states, only Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend.

"They all have their reasons" for not attending, an EU spokeswoman said Sunday.

Hours before the summit, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero met Erdogan in Mallorca to set in motion the much-vaunted "alliance of civilisations" bringing together Western and Muslim states in the fight against radical Islam via the founding of a high-level UN group.

Both men were then to hotfoot it back to Barcelona for the start of the summit Sunday evening. Zapatero was also due to meet Blair for pre-summit talks, while Erdogan was to meet freshly-elected German Chancellor Angela Merkel, making her debut on the international summit stage.

When the Barcelona Process began in 1995 the idea was to accelerate efforts to set up a free trade area covering the EU and the Mediterranean, but since the September 11 attacks in the United States terrorism has forced its way to the top of the agenda, followed by clandestine immigration.

British officials said ahead of the summit Blair will seek pledges from his European and Mediterranean partners to endorse a "Code of Conduct on Countering Terrorism", as well as greater cooperation such as sharing intelligence and managing borders.

But with Arab leaders not showing up and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon also staying at home ahead of an election, organisers must now redouble efforts to make the gathering a success.

A key goal of the partnership has been to create a Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Area (EMFTA) to spur economic growth in the region, but analysts say a 2010 target date is unlikely to be met.

The EU has also poured some nine billion euros (10.5 billion dollars) of aid into the region and a similar amount in European Investment Bank loans.

Security was tight for the summit, with protests expected, and some 6,000 police patrolling outside the venue just a stone's throw from the Mediterranean shoreline.
 Turkishpress.com

Euro-Med Summit Dubbed "Decaf"

Terrorism, immigration top Euromed agenda

BARCELONA DECLARATION MARKS 10 YEARS

Heads of state and government officials are meeting in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday, to mark the tenth anniversary of the Barcelona Declaration. The delegation of the European Commission to Israel said the leaders are announcing a declaration on a common vision and will decide on a 5-year plan aiming to reinforce relations and to meet challenges in the region such as terrorism, political and economic reform and migration. Foreign ministers from the European Union, North Africa and the Middle East gathered in Barcelona in 1995 and laid out what is known as the Barcelona process or the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership – a plan to strengthen ties between Europe and ten countries ranging from Morocco to Israel. The plan also aimed to form a free trade zone in the Mediterranean region by 2010. Although the process has provided aid, critics say the plan has not met expectations and that there is still a lot to be accomplished. Foreign investment in the Middle East has not reached the anticipated levels and the political systems in these countries still require modernization. Observers say the vision of a free trade area by 2010 is looking increasingly out of reach. The European Commission has said its priorities for the region over the coming years are advancing democracy and human rights through stronger political dialogue and cooperation, expanding economic opportunities, tackling immigration issues and making education more accessible. Many leaders of states involved in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership have chosen not to attend the Sunday meeting.

By The Media Line Staff on Sunday, November 27, 2005

Euro-Mediterranean summit points to terrorism and co-operation

The meeting celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership that was also launched in Barcelona. Its goal remains to help Israel and its neighbours make the Middle East a region of "peace, stability and prosperity" on the back of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade zone by 2010.

The European Union and its Mediterranean neighbours open a two-day summit on Sunday seeking to improve co-operation and boost democratic standards. But many government leaders from northern Africa and the Middle East were expected to skip the meeting.

Of the 10 leaders from outside the EU only two were expected to show for the opening ceremony. Officials said they were remaining at home because of a variety of domestic and regional issues and not because of a collective snub to their European counterparts.

Hosni Mubarak and Abdelaziz Bouteflika were the latest leaders added to the list on Saturday. Egyptian President Mubarak remained in Cairo, where fierce clashes marred runoff elections for more than 100 parliamentary seats, while Algerian President Bouteflika flew to Paris for medical tests.

The leaders from Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia and Morocco were also expected to be on the no-show list. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, however, will be among those attending the summit at the spectacular Forum centre on the shores of the Mediterranean.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is not expected after his decision this week to abandon the right-wing Likud alliance and start a new party.

Syrian President Bashar Assad was barred for allegedly orchestrating the Feb. 14 murder of ex-Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a Beirut truck bombing that killed 20 other people.

Democratic and economic reforms

Going into the opening day, diplomats from both sides were still working on a final communiqué setting out ambitious targets on democratic and economic reforms for the countries on the Mediterranean's southern rim.

The meeting celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership that was also launched in Barcelona. Its goal remains to help Israel and its neighbours make the Middle East a region of "peace, stability and prosperity" on the back of a Euro-Mediterranean free trade zone by 2010.

The so-called Barcelona process has had its share of delays, and this year's summit will seek to reinvigorate the co-operation. Unlike in Eastern Europe, where the EU was able to offer the prospect of membership to lure countries into far-reaching economic and political reform, it does not have such a carrot to offer to North African or Middle East countries.

On top of that, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has weighed heavily on relations across the Mediterranean and has long hampered the full development of the partnership.

The initial strategy was to encourage economic development in the belief that political changes would automatically follow. This year however, the EU is trying to force through political reform even before all of its economic aid and trade initiatives have started to bear fruit.

The 25-nation EU has linked continued European aid and open trade to embracing democratic and economic reforms.

The EU now spends euro3 billion (US$3.5 billion) a year in grants and soft loans on its southern neighbours.

Different goals

The draft of the final "common vision" sets out a long list of political and economic goals that need to be met, from improving the legal systems to developing integrated transport networks. The EU head office has also said it wants the government officials from Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey to agree to a strong statement denouncing terrorism.

Officials said Syria and Lebanon continued to have some objections to the final statement as the leaders started arriving in Barcelona.

The summit starts two days after the opening of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, marking the first time Palestinians will be in charge of an international border. The event has bolstered Abbas' message that independence can only be won through negotiations.

The European leaders - including German Chancellor Angela Merkel making her debut appearance at an international gathering - will likely use the opening of the crossing to urge Israel and the Palestinians to stay the course toward a peaceful settlement of their conflict.

The EU will deploy scores of border monitors under a deal with Israel, which ran the Rafah crossing before its withdrawal from the Gaza.

On the eve of the summit Oxfam, the global anti-poverty organisation, cautioned the EU against seeking rapid free trade in agriculture with Arab nations around the Mediterranean, saying it will drive people there deeper into poverty.

Oxfam said Europe must not force Mediterranean countries to open their agricultural markets too fast under any Euro-Mediterranean free trade agreement but urged them to accept more goods from northern Africa and the Middle East.

The UN refugee agency warned the leaders that they should do more to protect refugees trying to cross the Mediterranean from Africa.

EITB24.COM   Nov. 27, 2005

The Barcelona Process: Ten Years On and No Closer to Peace

Palestinian National Initiative, November 30, 2005
www.aljazeerah.info  

A decade has passed since the Euro-Mediterranean partnership was launched in 1995. One of the key objectives behind the partnership was the desire to seek an end to the Palestine-Israel conflict, to promote dialogue, exchange and co-operation in political, social and economic matters, and to provide the two sides with a forum in which to do so.

But as European and (some) Arab leaders met in Barcelona at the weekend to mark the tenth anniversary of the Barcelona process, and as the EU re-affirms resolution of the conflict as one of its key priorities, what real progress has been made over the last ten years?

The answer to this question is well reflected in the submission of a report by Britain’s own diplomatic representative in Jerusalem in the run-up to the summit. The report accuses Israel of violating international law and peace agreements, and jeopardizing the future of any peace process. It specifically addresses Israel’s long-term effort to transform the demographic and geographic realities of East Jerusalem in order to prevent it from becoming the capital of a Palestinian state.

The report made little, if any, impact on the summit’s agenda. And instead of using the opportunity presented at the Euro-Med Summit to directly address these issues with Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister and Mayor of Jerusalem, Ehud Olmert, British Prime Minister and current holder of the EU Presidency, Tony Blair, chose instead to hold talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, replicating the time-old pattern whereby the onus for change is placed continually on the Palestinians.

In the meantime, the demolition of Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem has accelerated, with the destruction of eight houses since last Thursday, the day when Israel announced plans to expand the largest of its illegal West Bank settlement by building 350 new housing units. Equally, construction of the Apartheid Wall continues apace.

In such a context, Europe’s ability to seek a just and lasting solution to this conflict is questionable. While it continues to give over one billion euros a year in aid, and more in loans, to the region, and while this has done much to cushion the devastating socio-economic impacts Israel’s ongoing occupation is having on Palestine, it has done little towards addressing the strategic factors underpinning the conflict, namely, Israel’s political intransigence and unilateral stance on any “peace process.”

Humanitarian aid is both important and necessary, but it simply acts as a sticking plaster to heal the surface wounds caused by the occupation both in Palestine, and within Israel itself. If aid remains unaccompanied by a dedicated effort to bring about genuine political reform, then this turbid status quo will simply continue.

Europe has significant power to wield over Israel, in the form of the Interim Association Agreement on Trade and Cooperation, signed as part of the Barcelona Process, which sees Israel gain preferential access to European markets. The EU is Israel's major trading partner, and roughly 40 percent of Israeli imports come from the EU, while 30 percent of Israeli exports are directed to the EU. [1]

If the EU is to be truly committed to seeking a just and lasting peace to this conflict, it can tie the renewal of such agreements to Israel’s adherence to, and implementation of international laws and peace agreements. It states that “suspending the Association Agreement […] would not make the Israeli authorities responsive to EU concerns” and that “it is a well-known fact that economic sanctions achieve rather little in this respect.” [2] Yet were it not for the imposition of economic sanctions in the case of South Africa, the Apartheid regime may not have fallen when it did.

Equally, as part of the “Quartet” and one of the signatories of the Road Map, the EU has the responsibility to call for the holding of an international peace conference, as set out in Phase III of the peace deal.

If the means exist, the only thing that remains is for the EU to make a genuine commitment to peace by utilizing them.

[1] The EU’s Relations With Israel: Trade Relations. http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/israel/intro/#trade.

 [2] The EU & the Middle East Peace Process. Frequently Asked Questions: Sanctions Against Israel. http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/mepp/faq/index.htm#Sanctions%20against%20Israel. 

Alliance of Civilizations meaningless without dialogue: Khatami
November 30, 2005

Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami Tuesday evening stressed that the idea behind the `Alliance of Civilizations' proposed by the United Nations is different from his concept of `Dialogue among Civilizations'.

"An alliance of civilizations will be meaningless without dialogue among civilizations," he told an IRNA correspondent here.

The former Iranian president was in Spain's Palma de Mallorca Island to attend the first session of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's high-level group tasked with promoting an `Alliance of Civilizations' between the West and the Islamic World.

Khatami, who first proposed the idea of `Dialogue among Civilizations, disclosed that an international center to promote his concept will be established in a European state.

Distinguished figures in international affairs will take part in the activities of the center, he added.

Referring to his talks in Mallorca with representatives of the 18-member group appointed by the UN secretary-general, Khatami said, "I and several participants in the meeting pointed out that talk about Islamic terrorism and Islamic extremism is meaningless since there is nothing in Islam that sanctions terrorism or extremism." He stressed that extremism and terrorism exist among followers of all other religions and no one has the right to exclusively link these evils to Islam.

Khatami further underlined the need for excavating the roots of extremism in the world.

The three-day meeting of the UN-sponsored high-level group tasked with creating an `Alliance of Civilizations', co-chaired by Mehmet Aydin from Turkey and Spanish former UNESCO director- general Federico Mayor Zaragoza, wrapped up its work in Palma de Mallorca in Spain's Balearic Islands Tuesday.

The meeting was to set in motion an idea of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero first mooted last year at UN headquarters in New York.

Khatami left Mallorca Wednesday morning for Beirut, Lebanon where he is to attend a gathering on human development from the viewpoint of different religions as well as discuss the thoughts of kidnapped Lebanese Shiite leader Imam Mousa Sadr.

Khatami, during his stay in Beirut, is to hold talks with Lebanese tribal leaders and meet family members of of the kidnapped Lebanese Shiite leader.

Imam Mousa Sadr was kidnapped during an official visit to Libya on August 31, 1978. His whereabouts have not been known since then.

The three-day gathering, attended by writers, intellectuals and cultural figures, starts on Thursday.

A decade on, Barcelona comes up short

By Joseph Bahout - The Daily Star - Lebanon
Commentary by
Wednesday, November 30, 2005

In 1995, at the moment of its inception, the Euro-Mediterranean partnership launched in Barcelona could undoubtedly be seen as an innovative breakthrough in the process of regionalization involving Europe's southern neighboring area. However, 10 years later a critical eye would admit not only that the framework then envisaged has shown its limitations, but also that it has become seriously challenged by more aggressive, if not more attractive, models.

Anniversaries are also a time for reassessment. The Barcelona ambition has to be recreated, not only if it is to live, but also because change in the south of the Mediterranean has become a matter of life and death.

Seen from the "southern" side of the Mare Nostrum, the European project was ambitious in its aims and scopes, but quite poorly backed by effective political will and by clear executive tools. This first pitfall surely had more to do with Europe itself. Today's European Union, with its 25 member states, is crippled by bureaucratic weight that has translated into diplomatic anemia. Due not only to its internal deliberative procedures, but also because it has to constantly arbitrate among priorities, Brussels is for the time being doomed to remain a victim of the minimal consensus possible, and of lowest common denominators.

At the structural level, in the course of its ongoing enlargement process, the European idea itself has increasingly lost its original substance, to the point where its mission must probably be reformulated. This has an inevitable impact on the way Europe perceives the world, and on the way it assesses risks as well as stakes. While strategic security and the need to benefit from trans-Atlantic protection are at the top of the agenda for part of Europe, at another level the EU is more concerned with social security or with the need to contain and control migration. This divide, ironically, echoes U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's characterization of an "old" and "new" Europe, but it surely also has something to do with the conflicting approaches of European partners toward the war in Iraq.

What largely made the Euro-Med project attractive was its articulation of three interrelated approaches: a "hard power" political and security approach that was supposed to establish a peaceful and stabilized zone; an economic device meant to lead to a free-trade zone of market economies; and a more "soft-power" approach aspiring to bridge cultural divides. Ten years on, the Barcelona triptych is shown to have been far from mutually beneficial. If we might argue that the setbacks in the peace process leading to a solution of the Arab-Israel conflict seriously impeded the first and second approaches, we also have to admit that the enormous amounts of financial support granted to "southern" economies most often ended up fueling the chains of state-led and -protected corruption, and cynically prolonged the lives of otherwise moribund regimes.

Finding itself confined by the United States as well as by local actors to the role of "payer not player" in the realm of peace designs, Europe also feels the limitations of its financial power when it comes to political demands. It will probably now have to rediscover the need and advantage of balancing more sticks with carrots. This is where Europe has to acknowledge another kind of limitation, one pertaining to its partners' political culture: despite the lip service paid to the necessity of boosting an active European diplomacy in order to counterbalance American unilateral policies, Middle Eastern political as well as economic elites are much more attracted - for reasons good or bad - to the lights of Washington than to the labyrinths of the Brussels bureaucracy.

It would be interesting to reflect one day on the extent to which the framers of the Barcelona process took inspiration from another, brilliantly successful, European venture: the Helsinki Accords. In a much more difficult international context constrained by the Cold War, and with its efforts directed at a much more rigidly structured regional entity than the southern Mediterranean states - pro-Soviet Eastern Europe - a more fragile, but also more daring Europe at the time understood the range of potential benefits that came with leveraging economic cooperation for political flexibility. The idea of a "three basket" device was implemented in a way that led to one of the most crucial developments of the 20th century.

True, other factors helped in making the Helsinki strategy a winning one, not least the close complicity between Europe and the U.S. and the spelling out of a clear and unashamed strategic goal. As Barcelona enters into its second decade, it has become urgent to revive the original boldness of the Barcelona spirit: that of promoting, nurturing and defending a common space of shared and acceptable norms and values.

Joseph Bahout is research associate at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris, and was formerly assistant professor at Saint Joseph University in Beirut. This commentary first appeared at bitterlemons-international.org, an online newsletter.

10th Anniversary Euro-Mediterranean Summit
Barcelona, 27 and 28 November 2005

Chairman's statement

http://europa.eu.int
On the 10^th anniversary of the adoption of the Barcelona Declaration in November 1995, the leaders of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership pledge their renewed commitment to the objective of achieving a common area of peace, stability and prosperity in the Mediterranean region through ongoing dialogue, exchange and co-operation. They reaffirm that this objective requires a comprehensive approach to enhancing security, the just resolution of regional conflicts, strengthening democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, sustainable and balanced economic and social development, measures to combat poverty and exclusion, and the promotion of greater understanding between cultures and peoples.

The partners recognise that only determined action will enable the region’s young people to fulfil their aspirations of a better future.

They reaffirm their commitment to the principles and objectives of the Barcelona Declaration and re-emphasise the importance of co-ownership of the Process, which remains the cornerstone of the Euromed partnership. They reiterate that their partnership should serve as a framework for building regional co-operation and understanding.

The Barcelona Process provides an important contribution to promoting progress in the Middle East Peace Process and to furthering mutual understanding, even if it is not the forum in which a settlement will be reached. They call for the rapid and full implementation of the Road Map and encourage the parties to continue on the path of direct dialogue and negotiation in the fulfilment of the vision of two states, a safe and secure Israel and a viable, sovereign, contiguous, democratic Palestine, living side by side in peace and security. Final status issues have to be agreed by the parties.

Partners reaffirm their commitment to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting settlement consistent with the Road Map and principles of the Madrid Conference including land for peace and based on relevant UNSC resolutions, including 242, 338 and 1397 and take note of recent regional developments and initiatives, including the Beirut Arab Peace Initiative.

Partners also call for the reinvigoration of efforts to promote progress in the Middle East Peace Process on all tracks, Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese.

They recognise that major changes have occurred in the European Union and internationally since the Barcelona Declaration was signed in 1995. The EU has launched the European Neighbourhood Policy to reinforce and complement the Barcelona Process. The EU has also developed the European Security and Defence Policy on which a dialogue has been initiated with Mediterranean partners. They also recall Turkey’s special situation as a candidate country and a member of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.

The partners make the following collective commitments:

1. To strive collectively to achieve peace in the region.

2. To strengthen democracy, expanding participation in political life, public affairs and decision making, and further promoting gender equality. To enhance respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression in accordance with their international obligations. To continue maintaining and ensuring the independence of the judiciary and expand access to justice to all. In this context the EU will establish a substantial financial Facility to support willing Mediterranean partners’ in carrying out their reforms, taking into account that successful reforms must develop from within the societies of the region.

3. To enhance the security of all citizens, particularly through more effective counter-terrorism policies and deeper co-operation to dismantle all terrorist activities, to protect potential targets, to manage the consequences of attacks, and to implement the Code of Conduct on Countering Terrorism they have agreed today. To condemn terrorism, wherever it is committed, without qualification and reject all attempts to associate any religion or culture with terrorism.

4. In the context of the implementation of the chapter on political and security partnership:

to promote regional security by acting, inter alia, in favour of nuclear, chemical and biological non-proliferation through adherence to and compliance with a combination of international and regional non-proliferation regimes, and arms control and disarmament agreements such as NPT, CWC, BWC, CTBT and/or regional arrangements such as weapons free zones including their verification regimes, as well as by fulfilling in good faith their commitments under arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation conventions.

The parties shall pursue a mutually and effectively verifiable Middle East Zone free of weapons of mass destruction, nuclear, chemical and biological, and their delivery systems.

Furthermore the parties will consider practical steps to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons as well as excessive accumulation of conventional arms.

Refrain from developing military capacity beyond their legitimate defence requirements, at the same time reaffirming their resolve to achieve the same degree of security and mutual confidence with the lowest possible levels of troops and weaponry and adherence to CCW.

Promote conditions likely to develop good-neighbourly relations among themselves and support process aimed at stability, security, prosperity and regional and subregional cooperation.

Consider any confidence and security-building measures that could be taken between the parties with a view to the creation of an “area of peace and stability in the Mediterranean”, including the long term possibility of establishing a Euro-Mediterranean pact to that end.

5. To contribute to achieving an area of shared economic development by: fulfilling the undertaking to achieve a Euro-Mediterranean free trade area by 2010; promoting broad-based equitable sustainable economic development and employment by inter alia pursuing economic reform, supporting efforts to promote domestic and attract foreign investment in the region, enhancing public financial management, strengthening the role of the private sector, improving legal systems, reinforcing industrial cooperation, enhancing equitable access to basic services; developing integrated transport, energy and telecommunications networks and encouraging the objective of establishment of a Euro-med Energy Market. To assess in December 2006 the possibility of the incorporation of an EIB majority owned subsidiary dedicated to the Mediterranean partner countries, on the basis of an evaluation of FEMIP’s performance. In this context they welcome the EIB’s intention to provide a further tranche of financial assistance to the region in 2006.

6. To develop the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development and review the implementation of all relevant regional agreements and action plans. To endorse a feasible timetable to de-pollute the Mediterranean Sea by 2020, while providing appropriate financial resources and technical support to implement it, using the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development and exploring possible areas for co-operation in this regard with UNEP.

7. To reinforce and support the efforts of all countries in the region to meet the Millennium Development Goals, particularly in the areas of education, vocational training and of gender equality, given the importance of human development and knowledge-based societies to modernisation. To significantly enhance national efforts to meet agreed targets for standards of education across the region, through developing educational systems, administration and management, with a particular focus on creating skilled workforces. In this context partners will increase significantly resources devoted to education.

8. To create an area of mutual cooperation on migration, social integration, justice, and security.

9. To strengthen the management of regular migratory flows in a comprehensive manner beneficial to the peoples of both shores of the Mediterranean, respecting migrants’ rights. To intensify co-operation on all aspects of illegal immigration between all parties concerned, including human trafficking, reflecting shared responsibility and solidarity.

10. To act jointly against racism, xenophobia and intolerance, stressing respect for all religions, rejecting extremist views which attempt to divide us and incite violence and hatred, and joining together to promote common understanding. To improve intercultural dialogue aiming at promoting understanding, building on our cultural heritage, including through the work of the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue Between Cultures, and in support of the UN Alliance of Civilisations.

11. To strengthen dialogue between governmental and non-governmental actors across the Euro-Mediterranean region, including through the promotion of dialogue between Parliamentarians within the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, contacts between civil society associations, youth, trade unions, business and professional associations and cooperation between regional and local administrations.

The partners recall the application presented by the Islamic Republic of Mauritania to join the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership which will be given consideration in due time.

Expressing their renewed determination to drive the Process forward in pursuit of a better future for the youth of the region and fully implement the principles of the 1995 Barcelona Declaration, the leaders of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership commit to work towards the objectives contained in the attached work plan over the next five years and to regularly review progress against these undertakings.

Copyright © 2005 Hispano-Turco.Com
All Rights Reserved. Her Hakkı Saklıdır.
Propiedad Intelectual.