PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy of France gathered leaders from 43 countries in Paris to launch a Mediterranean Union (MU)

(source : Daily Mail)

Union of the Mediterranean

PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy of France gathered leaders from 43 countries in Paris to launch a Mediterranean Union (MU). The new forum brings together the 27 countries of the European Union, and states from North Africa, the Balkans and Arab nations along with Israel. Peace with its associated difficulties in one of the world’s most volatile regions was, according to the French President, “a major initiative (of the MU), and now we have to nurture it and go further. Everyone will have to make an effort, as the Europeans did, to put an end to the deadly spiral of war and violence that, century after century, repeatedly brought barbarity to the heart of civilisation.” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso echoed similar sentiments when he stated that “this is a historic contribution for the future of Europe and the future of the Mediterranean,” and urged the Mediterranean states to emulate Europe’s model of reconciliation and co-operation. The undertaking was, however, fraught with controversy. The list of participating countries prepared by Paris initially became a source of contention between Paris and Berlin, the co-sponsors in terms of financing the first gathering of the MU leaders. Paris had initially refrained from inviting Northern European countries, but relented at Germany’s Angela Merkel’s insistence. In addition on the list were sworn enemies Bashar Asad of Syria and Ehud Olmert of Israel who, reportedly, went out of their way to avoid each other. While Olmert claimed that he sent a message of peace through Erdogan of Turkey, yet the Syrian side was quick to refute that it had received any message from the Israeli Prime Minister. The status quo with respect to the Palestinian issue also remained with no mention being made of the two-state solution in the communique.

Many would argue that steps towards peace in the volatile Middle East have failed consistently in the past and the current initiative is hardly likely to bear fruit. Two factors tend to belie this logic. First, America has consistently been perceived by Arabs as not an honest broker in the conflict ; therefore there is a void that can be filled by the MU if it can emerge as an honest broker. Second and more importantly, guerrilla warfare has replaced conventional war in conflicts in the Middle East which negates the advantages that a superpower, be it the United States or Israel as the Middle Eastern superpower, would otherwise normally have exercised in terms of human and military resources. The days of the three-day war or indeed of Israeli victories, effortless and swift, appear to be over. The dawn of the new era highlights the need for negotiations leading to an agreement as the most lasting approach to peace. No where is this more evident than in the peace deal between the Irish Republican Army and the British government. The ever rising number of Sarkozy’s domestic critics, have alleged that the idea of the MU was to rejuvenate his flailing presidency through catapulting him on the world stage. But this is not the only objective. According to the French Foreign Minister Kouchner, the MU will focus on climate change, environment, access to water and energy, migration and dialogue between civilisations as key areas of co-operation. Leaders have agreed on a batch of modest projects such as cleaning up pollution in the Mediterranean Sea, improving shipping routes and developing solar energy, co-operating on the prevention, preparation and response to natural and man-made disasters, setting up a Mediterranean University based in Slovenia and supporting Mediterranean business initiatives by establishing a body to assist small and medium sized companies through providing technical assistance and financial instruments from voluntary contributions from members states.