Euro-Mediterranean Union project receives backing despite shaky start

5.20.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 5th Jun 2008

Euro-Mediterranean Union project receives backing despite shaky start

The European Parliament debated the draft proposals from the Commission today for re-invigorating the Barcelona process following proposals from French President Nicholas Sarkozy for a Mediterranean Union.

Although there has been a lot of criticism regarding the original concept and the way in which it had been announced without proper preparation or consultation, the ALDE members support the aim of giving a fresh breath of life to the Barcelona process on condition that it does not duplicate existing structures and procedures of the EU common foreign and security policy and does not ignore the important questions of democracy and human rights.

Graham Watson, MEP for the South West and Gibraltar spoke on behalf of the ALDE group he leads pointing out that "Mare Nostrum shouldn't be a cultural diving line but rather a meeting place."

"If Europe is serious about reversing the failures of the last decade and generating development and security on its southern shores, it must learn to give as well as to take. The worst possible mistake the French Presidency could make is to commit the EU and its citizens to a grandiose project lacking proper financing.

The pragmatic approach of the Union for the Mediterranean is welcome but should not signal a shift away from our commitment to democracy and peace in the name of economic synergies".