Arab Perceptions of the Euro – Mediterranean Partnership

نبذة عن كتاب Arab Perceptions of the Euro – Mediterranean Partnership

In October 1994, the European Union presented a proposal to establish an Euro-Mediterranean partnership (EMP). According to this proposal, the partnership was directed towards “support for establishing a zone of stability and security and creating conditions for lasting and sustainable rapid economic development in the Mediterranean countries.”
The proposal outlined three main dimensions (or “baskets”)of the
Euro-Mediterranean partnership:
(i) Establishing an Euro-Mediterranean zone of political stability and security.
(ii) Establishing an Euro-Mediterranean Economic Area.
(iii) Establishing Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in the social and cultural fields.
It also called for the convening of an Euro-Mediterranean conference in Barcelona, in November 1995.
The second of these dimensions involved the establishment of a free trade area covering all manufactured products being traded between the EU and southern Mediterranean countries, with preferential and access for agricultural products and a free trade area exclusively comprising the Mediterranean countries. The Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade zone would constitute the biggest free trade area in the world, covering 600-800 million people in some 30-40 countries. The EU proposal also promised financial support amounting to ECU 5.5 billion for the period 1995-1999, to assist Mediterranean non –member states to realize these objectives.