Middle East Strategy at Harvard

From MESH Admin

Today (Sunday) is the inaugural conference in Paris of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). French President Nicolas Sarkozy, father of the idea, originally proposed a body independent of the EU, linking together all the states bordering the Mediterranean sea. He also proposed that the new Union take a lead in Arab-Israeli peacemaking, since it would include both Israel and Arab states.

But opposition within the EU to a separate entity has led to the inclusion of the full EU membership in the UfM, as well as its incorporation within the existing Barcelona Process, the EU’s own decade-old Euro-Med initiative. Arab opposition to normalization with Israel has also reduced the Union’s initial agenda to promotion of development projects. Nevertheless, the conference will be attended by a wide range of Middle Eastern prime ministers and presidents, including Ehud Olmert and Bashar Asad. This paper, by the Euro-Mediterranean Study Commission (EuroMeSCo) provides some context.

The French newspaper Le Figaro, which has an online dossier of articles about the UfM, has prepared an interactive map (in French) showing the current likely composition of the UfM, the scope of Sarkozy’s original plan, likely co-presidents, possible sites of the secretariat, development projects, and budget. (If the map doesn’t appear right below, click here.)