Mediterranean Troubles and European Security: at the Regional Roots of the Barcelona Process

Abstract

28 November 2020 marked 25 years since the European Union (EU) launched the so-called Barcelona Process. What was known as the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) is, to date, the most ambitious attempt launched by the EU to cope with the challenges emanating from its Southern neighbourhood. This article aims to shed light on the Mediterranean dynamics at play in the years before the formal launch of the EMP, and consider them the crucial drivers in pushing the EC/EU to promote a more comprehensive approach to the Mediterranean. Developments in Europe, notably the German reunification, clearly played a significant role in pushing countries such as Spain, France and Italy to promote a more significant European role in the Mediterranean to partially rebalance the impact of a united Germany. However, in this work, it is argued that security problems arising from the Maghreb and a number of structural changes in the Arab Israeli confrontation created the actual momentum for the establishment of the EMP. The primary focus is thus on those regional dynamics that pushed the EU to adopt a new and more comprehensive Mediterranean policy, at least in its intentions.