Euro-Mediterranean Partnership Research Articles

Education and Economic Growth: Evidence from the EUROMED Countries

The Mediterranean Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development (MSESD) Report reveals that the Mediterranean is an exceptional eco-region not only due to its geographical characteristics, but also its heterogeneous economic structure, in which education is regarded as a key driver of sustainable development. Given this importance, this study attempts to investigate the impact of education as a channel for human capital accumulation on two different growth concepts in a panel group of eight Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EUROMED) countries. We utilize an endogenous growth model using annual observations spanning from 2000 to 2017 by employing the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimator. Empirical results obtained from the Augmented Mean Group estimator indicate a positive impact of education, regardless of the growth proxy. In addition, empirical findings reveal that the impact of education on inclusive growth is five times higher than that on output growth. We also find that capital is the main driver of growth while inclusive growth is primarily triggered by education. One of the main policy implications raised in this study is that education reforms that attempt to improve educational quality will assist policymakers to achieve sustainable development goals. Extensive policy discussions related to the experiential findings are also provided.

الأورو وسياسة سعر الصرف في الدول المغاربية var دراسة حالة الجزائر باستعمال متجه الانحدار الذاتي .2015- للفترة 2000

The study aims at identifying the effects of changes in the Euro-Dollar exchange rateon the exchange rate policies in the Maghreb countries, especially as these countries havesigned agreements with the EU in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership,which increased the terms of trade between them, the study revealed a positiverelationship between the euro and the Moroccan dirham and the Tunisian dinar, whereasAlgeria faced where the results of the econometric study showed that the effects offluctuations of the euro is limited because it has a lot of foreign exchange reserves

Imagining the Mediterranean from Spain: Orientalism and Modernity in the symbolic universe of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership

Imagining the Mediterranean from Spain: Orientalism and Modernity in the symbolic universe of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership

ЄВРО-СЕРЕДЗЕМНОМОРСЬКЕ ПАРТНЕРСТВО: ФОРМУВАННЯ ТА ДИНАМІКА ТРАНСФОРМАЦІЙ У КОНТЕКСТІ СУСПІЛЬНО-ПОЛІТИЧНИХ, ЕНЕРГЕТИЧНИХ ТА ЕКОНОМІЧНИХ ВИКЛИКІВ

The article is devoted to the current problem of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership in the context of sociopolitical, energy and economic challenges. The implementation of the Mediterranean vector of foreign policy by the European Union dates back to the 1950s. However, the policy of partnership was actualized only in the 21st century, which is determined by historical, geopolitical, economic, energy and socio-cultural factors. The article describes four stages of the formation and development of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership, defines the vectors, directions, features, forms and mechanisms of cooperation and cooperation. The dynamics of transformations of partnership and interaction strategies between the EU and the Mediterranean states are analyzed. Considerable attention is focused on the study of the impact of modern socio-political, economic, energy factors and historical events on the effectiveness of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. Special attention is focused on the problems of illegal migration to the EU from the conflict zones of North Africa and the Middle East. The settlement of migration problems is considered as an actual vector and dimension of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. In the context of modern regional and global challenges, the dynamics of the transformation of the Mediterranean vector of the European Union's foreign policy have been studied. The article indicates the positive dynamics of interstate interactions. The directions, features, vectors of the foreign policy strategies of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership (liberalization and intensification of trade; creation of a free trade zone between the EU and the countries of North Africa and the Middle East; implementation of investment projects; introduction of innovative technologies, standards; active cooperation and interaction in the energy sector) were comprehensively studied. formation of the regional energy security system). The priority directions of the partnership between the EU and the Mediterranean countries are the implementation of projects on the use of solar energy, the introduction of alternative energy sources, and the settlement of environmental and energy problems. In the context of modern security geopolitical challenges, the goals of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership are to ensure peace and security; settlement of acute crises and conflicts; democratization of the political systems of the Mediterranean countries; fight against terrorism and illegal migration.

The Role of International Organizations in the Mediterranean Sea: An Appraisal of the Union for the Mediterranean

Abstract The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) is the international entity that brings together all States of Southern and Eastern Mediterranean shores, all Member States of the European Union and the European Union itself. The UfM is currently the only forum where all States of the Mediterranean basin carry out a form of international cooperation to foster economic development and regional integration. It has undergone a significant institutional development since the creation of the Barcelona Process in the context of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership in 1995. Despite its uniqueness, the UfM has received very limited attention by international law scholarship. The article aims at filling this gap by exploring the historical evolution along with the features and the functions of the UfM. The analysis will be undertaken in the purview of institutional law to verify whether the UfM can be considered an international organization or rather an informal partnership of States. The study will also discuss whether this entity could promote a form of “Mediterranean regionalism” or if the UfM would serve as a mere projection of the interests of the European Union over the Mediterranean Sea.

Borderlands: Europe and the Mediterranean Middle East

Europe's southern neighbours, stretching along the Mediterranean coast from Morocco to Turkey, have directly influenced the socio-political fabric of the European continent. Since the turn of the century, terrorism, Islamist radicalism and a massive influx of refugees have emerged as significant challenges for European governance. Europe has attempted to target the root causes of these challenges by exporting its way of life, embedding its desirable order and prioritizing regional stability over good governance—largely to no avail. In Borderlands, Raffaella A. Del Sarto sheds light on these three European policy responses and evaluates their successes and failures. The book borrows the framework of core–periphery to describe Europe's relationship with its southern Mediterranean neighbours as a form of empire. By imagining the European Union (EU) and its member states as an empire, Del Sarto argues that one ‘may conceive of the EU's export of its rules and practices to neighbouring states as the modus operandi of an empire in pursuit of its own interests’ (p. 25). Through the prism of constructivism, Del Sarto examines this bilateral relationship from 1995, when the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (also known as the Barcelona Process) launched, until 2015. According to the author, these ties are best understood through the notion of borderlands: areas that are connected to the European core through shared rules and practices and within a relationship that remains asymmetrical. The transfer of European rules and practices to the peripheral states in the Mediterranean Middle East embodies ‘a cost-efficient means of pursuing Europe's economic and security interests, for which the stability of the periphery remains key’ (p. 146).

Ceuta y Melilla en la nueva relación de Vecindad y de Cooperación transfronteriza con Marruecos iniciada en 2022

After a reference to the international legal framework for cross-border cooperation between (regional and local) territorial entities in the Council of Europe (Spain - France, Portugal, and United Kingdom around Gibraltar), we will analyze how cross-border co-operation carried out by Spanish/Moroccan territorial entities (specifically, between Ceuta and Melilla and the provinces of Tetouan and Nador, respectively), pose a certain degree of difficulty, as it is an issue included in the different frameworks of existing relations between the European Union (EU) and Morocco. These are: the EU Regional/Cohesion Policy through the INTERREG III A Spain-Morocco programme (since 1994) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF); The Barcelona Process or Euro-Mediterranean Partnership - Union for the Mediterranean and its financial instrument, the MEDA Programme; the European Neighbourhood Policy – ENP (2004, revised in 2011 and 2015) and the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument – ENPI (in force since January 1st. 2007)), replaced by the European Neighborhood Instrument (in force since March 16, 2014) for the period 2014-2020 and merged into the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) - Global Europe for the period 2021-2027. We will consider how territorial claims have limited the possibilities of cross-border cooperation between Spain and Morocco within the framework of the ENP, and we will make some proposals for promoting the cross-border cooperation between the Spanish Autonomous Cities and the Moroccan provinces of Tetouan and Nador in the «new stage of the partnership between Spain and Morocco» started at the beginning of 2022.

THE ROLE OF EUROPEAN UNION POLICIES TO COUNTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IN NORTH AFRICA

The issue of illegal immigration from North Africa to Europe is one of the most prominent phenomena that have preoccupied analysts, researchers, and decision-makers, considering that it affects the security of countries and societies alike in North Africa, especially after the wave of protests in 2011. The proposed study focuses on two main questions: What are the repercussions of illegal immigration on the European Union? What are the most important European Union policies to address illegal immigration from North Africa? The methodology of the study employs the qualitative method since it helps provide a substantial and rich description of this complex phenomenon, tracking unique or unexpected events by analyzing the following policies: the Barcelona Process, the Schengen Agreement, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the 5+5 Dialogue, the European Neighbourhood Policy, and the Union for the Mediterranean. This article presents an analytical study of European policies to confront illegal immigration from North African countries. Finally, it is concluded the need to adopt a preventive strategy to confront illegal immigration in the Mediterranean region by addressing its causes, especially in the southern Mediterranean countries, which are considered source countries, for improving economic and social conditions.

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

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.

European Union interaction with South-Eastern Mediterranean: From “Ring of friends” to “Ring of fire”

The Mediterranean region is key in the policy of the European Union, and the countries of the Middle East and North Africa are singled out in the group of Southern neighbors. Over the past decade, the region has undergone a profound transformation. Large-scale challenges - political instability, terrorism, migration, environmental problems and natural disasters - are beyond control. Crisis trends in the Middle East and most of North and Central Africa cause unpredictable and, most importantly, significant side effects that affect not only the security and stability of Europe, but also the functioning of the world system. Destabilizing events have led to the fact that the Mediterranean is now viewed as a source of existential threats. Moreover instability in the Southeast Mediterranean has dramatically changed the EU's perspective of the regional partners from a “ring of friends” to “a ring of fire”. This trend is recognized at the official level in the states of Europe, as well as in the EU and NATO. The lack of progress in various EU Euro-Mediterranean Partnership initiatives since the onset of the Arab Spring crises has resulted in a loss of MENA public confidence in EU. The article examines the conceptual foundations of the European Union for their policy towards the countries of the Southeast Me-diterranean, as well as identify the key EU approaches in countering the threats and challenges that arise in the region.

Avrupa Birliği’nin Cezayir ile Ekonomik ve Siyasi İş Birliği Ne Kadar Derindir? Avrupa Antlaşmalarının Etkisi

This paper examines the background of the economic and political ties between Algeria and the European Union (EU) and the tools that the EU uses. The EU-Algeria economic and political history is quite important to analyse as it is founded on important historical and colonial aspects with France, which is one of the founder countries of the EU. Within this context, the relations of Algeria with the EU have not been easy and have even been turbulent from time to time. EU’s cooperation with Algeria are five folded: The ‘Association Agreement’, the ‘Euro-Mediterranean Partnership’, ‘EU Neighbourhood Policy’, ‘Union for the Mediterranean’ and the ‘EU-Algeria Free Trade Agreement’. This study explores the tools used by the EU to forge a deeper and wider cooperation with Algeria and assesses the bilateral trade and investment status and the current political and economic problems. Our paper explores current and new cooperation opportunities, analyses trade and investment statistics, uses literature review with primary and secondary researches. EU reports and international documents are evaluated from a commercial and political perspective. Politically, we can say that the EU is longing for more cooperation from Algeria, especially on migration and security issues. Economically, we can say that the FTA is currently benefitting more the EU than Algeria’ because Algerian foreign trade balance is in deficit, the country imports more than it exports. Regarding foreign direct investments, we find economic engagement of not only European but also American investments in Algeria, especially regarding oil and gas exploring and production activities. We finally conclude our study with the recommendation of shifting towards a wider variety of economic activities for Algeria, so that it can obtain a more sustainable and balanced economic revenues

Die erneuerte Partnerschaft mit der südlichen Nachbarschaft: Was ist neu an der „neuen Agenda“?

In February 2021, the European Commission came up with “a new Agenda for the Mediterranean” (new Agenda). After the latest review of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in 2015, a new strategy had been expected for some time. Which aspects, however, are “new” in the new Agenda? Based on a review of the last 25 years of Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) and Neighbourhood Policy, the article explores to what extent the new Agenda is set to offer any change deserving to be called genuine or merely reflects old wine in new bottles. Within a content and discourse analytical approach, the article tracks how the concepts’ major topics and strategic frames evolved over the course of the years with a focus on the specific aspect of securitization. While the new Agenda seems to be reaching a new apex as regards the latter, there is much to be found in its text that is already well known from earlier strategy papers.

La Banque européenne d'investissement : un partenaire historique de la rive sud de la Méditerranée

La rive sud de la Méditerranée est l'une des grandes priorités pour l'Europe. À ce titre, la Banque européenne d'investissement (BEI) est un partenaire financier majeur, depuis notamment la mise en place de la Facilité euro-méditerranéenne d'investissement de partenariat (FEMIP) en 2003. Ce sont ainsi près de 25 Md€ qui ont été engagés pour accompagner le développement des pays de la rive sud, avec une capacité d'adaptation aux besoins. Concentrée initialement sur les grands projets d'infrastructures publiques, l'activité de la BEI s'est progressivement orientée vers le soutien à l'emploi et au secteur privé, à la microfinance, avec une priorité donnée au climat, et toujours un objectif de catalyse d'autres investissements (publics ou privés) pour augmenter l'effet de levier. La BEI intervient toujours en partenariats. Le constat est cependant une approche européenne morcelée limitant l'impact des financements européens. C'est le sens de la réflexion en cours, à laquelle la BEI contribue, pour améliorer le schéma d'aide européenne en dehors de ses frontières. Classification JEL : O19, O43, O55.

Euro-Mediterranean partnership and youth policies in the MENA: why policy discourse travels but implementation doesn’t

ABSTRACT This article explores the transfer of European approaches to youth policy to MENA regimes through their Mediterranean partnership programmes. Drawing on the papers and research conducted for the POWER2YOUTH (P2Y) research project, this conclusion investigates how European institutional and MENA governmental interests in similar models of youth policy-making converged but also why this convergence remained largely a feature of the discursive domain and did not translate into effective implementation or institutional embedding of policy in the authoritarian contexts of the MENA.

Strategy To Strengthen Cooperation Between The European Union And The Mediterranean Countries Through The Union For Mediterranean (UfM)

The European Union is an example of regional cooperations that represents regional identity. In the midst of the process of integration and expansion of membership, the European Union has an interest in building good relations with non-member countries in the immediate region, including the Mediterranean. The process of establishing cooperation between the European Union and the Mediterranean countries continues to change. The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) in 1995 was the place for regional cooperation with most member countries and had a well-structured pillar of cooperation. However, the two entities re-formed a new cooperative platform, The Union for Mediterranean (UfM) in 2008. This study aims to explain why the European Union and Mediterranean countries changed the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) into The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in 2008. Using the theory building approach in the Alex Warleigh-Lack regionalism concept, the findings in the research resulted in an answer that EMP has negative values that are not in accordance with the development of the issue so that it becomes a reason for the formation of UfM.

Does the Euro–Mediterranean Partnership contribute to regional integration?

The paper investigates whether Southern Mediterranean and Middle Eastern markets under the Euro–Mediterranean Partnership (Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Malta, and Turkey) have become more financially integrated with the European stock market over time. The findings suggest that the Turkish equity market is moderately integrated with the European market, while the other economies exhibit weak financial integration with Europe, supporting the idea that the partnership appears to have no effect on enhancing inter-market linkages for these economies. Therefore, these markets would be good destinations for international investors seeking attractive investment opportunities to diversify their equity portfolios. Structural changes in the cross-market integration do exist, which may be considered as a guide for international equity portfolio diversification over different subperiods. In addition, there is evidence of an increasing trend in conditional correlations for Egypt and Turkey, to varying degrees, over time, notably during the post global financial crisis of 2007–2008, thus revealing herding behavior during this period. Overall, investors should be wary of the variation of equity market integration over time before engaging in an investment at the level of portfolio management and diversification. Policymakers must be aware of the remoteness of the current achievements of the Euro–Mediterranean Partnership from the targets set in terms of financial development and economic growth.

Euro-Mediterranean Partnership - Contexts and Tracks

Euro-Mediterranean Partnership - Contexts and Tracks

THE ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF THE CONFLICT IN SYRIA

The article „ The Role of the European Union for the settlement of the conflict in Syria” features the efforts made by the EU and the Member States to contribute to the settlement of the Syrian conflict, arguing that the political and diplomatic potential of the EU allows it to engage on a larger scale with the peace process, since the conflict’s implications have a significant impact on the European countries. A description is made of the EU-Syria relations prior to and immediately after the beginning of the conflict, including the framework of the Euro Mediterranean Partnership (Euromed), the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) as important platforms for political dialogue and economic and social cooperation. The article also outlines the restrictions EU introduced in 2011 upon certain companies and infrastructure projects in Syria, as well as the ban on exports of dual use goods, equipment and technologies for the oil and gas industries and some communication systems. An overview is made of the individual efforts of the lead Member States and the absence of a coherent allied strategy, which is partly due to the fact that the EU institutions proved unprepared for a scenario in which Bashar al-Assad remained in power. Further an argument is made that the Union could have acted jointly with other countries and regional powers involved in the conflict and could have taken non-military measures, for example to establish a Crisis Management Centre to coordinate the diplomatic efforts and humanitarian operations of both Member States and regional countries. Then, the article points to the financial contribution of the EU and Member States aimed to relieve the humanitarian situation on the ground and highlights the key aspects of the strategy “Towards a comprehensive EU approach to the Syrian crisis”, adopted by the Union in June 2013. Finally, the article concludes that it all depends on political will and particularly on the ability of the European leaders to find the synergy in their joint effort and prove that the EU is capable of playing a decisive role in the settlement of global and vitally important security issues .

Negotiating the Rules of the Game in Euro-Mediterranean Relations

Ce document contribue à la réflexion sur les perspectives des relations entre les deux continents en examinant la transformation des négociations euro-méditerranéennes de 1995 à 2017. En particulier, il conceptualise l’espace euro-méditerranéen comme un système de négociation dans lequel les acteurs européens et les acteurs dits du voisinage sud ont négocié non seulement le contenu de leurs relations, mais aussi les « règles du jeu ». La mesure dans laquelle l’UE et les pays tiers du sud de la Méditerranée se sont engagés, et se consacrent actuellement, à construire, déconstruire et reconstruire l’architecture des négociations témoigne de leurs relations de pouvoir ainsi comme de leurs attentes et perceptions. Le document montre que les négociations sur le cadre des relations euro-méditerranéennes se sont déroulées en trois phases, sans pour autant correspondre aux principales politiques euro-méditerranéennes (le partenariat euro-méditerranéen, la politique européenne de voisinage et la politique révisée de voisinage après 2011). Une phase a été marquée par le transfert de l’architecture de négociation interne de l’UE vers l’arène extérieure et la faible résistance à cette institutionnalisation de la part des pays non membres. Une deuxième phase de contestation de ces règles du jeu et de leur utilisation stratégique par les partenaires sud-méditerranéens, suivie d’une troisième phase visant à déconstruire et transformer le cadre institutionnel des négociations.

A view from the policy community: a new strategic narrative for Europe?

ABSTRACTReflecting on the results presented in articles in this special issue, European leaders should take greater account of external perceptions in crafting the European Union's strategic narrative and guiding its actions. Failure to do so has impaired external policies like the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the European Neighbourhood Policy and Eastern Partnership. Leaders emerging from the Arab uprisings perceived the EU as complicit with their countries’ former anciens régimes and Russian leaders see EU support for democracy and the market economy in former Soviet states as duplicitous and instrusive. Awareness of such perceptions should be filtered into EU decision-making, without validating views that European officials and diplomats consider misleading.