The Year of the Mediterranean

The adoption of the Barcelona Declaration on November 28, 1995 marked a turning-point in relations between the European Union and its Mediterranean neighbours on the southern and eastern shores. A partnership was launched on a basis of joint ownership, dialogue and cooperation. In commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the Barcelona process and following a Tunisian proposal, 2005 was declared The Year of the Mediterranean. From a speech by the Maltese President while hosting his Tunisian counterpart two months ago:

In their own way, Malta and Tunisia have continually strived to promote the aspirations of the peoples of the Mediterranean in international fora, such as the United Nations and its agencies, as well as in regional diplomatic conferences, such as, the Euro-Mediterranean (Barcelona) Partnership, the Mediterranean Forum, and the Conference of the Western Mediterranean Countries, also referred to as the Five-Plus-Five Initiative.

I stress Malta’s belief in the ‘centrality’ of the Euro-Mediterranean (Barcelona) Partnership as far as the EU’s policy for the Mediterranean is concerned. With this year being the Tenth Anniversary of the Euro-Mediterranean (Barcelona) Partnership, Malta hopes that the Summit scheduled in Barcelona this November would focus on tangible deliverables so as to bring about a real partnership. This implies enhancing the Partnership to enable it to address the economic, social and humanitarian, as well as security issues that countries in the Mediterranean are facing in the contemporary situation.

Malta believes that the Five-Plus-Five Initiative should be an informal, pragmatic and a visible forum. My country also intends to examine with its partners in which manner the European Neighbourhood Policy/Action Plans could be used to strengthen the social welfare systems of partner countries. I am pleased that Malta and Tunisia will submit a Joint Paper on Culture and Development. I am also pleased that the meeting will discuss the Tunisian proposal on the Year of the Mediterranean...

Anna Lindh Euro Med Foundation;