How can more constructive Euro-Med relations be fostered? Fatemah Farag listens for answers Since the Barcelona Process was initiated in 1995, the relationship that has bound Egypt to the European Union (EU) has been known as the European Partnership. In March 2003 the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was outlined and further developed within the context of the EU's 2004 enlargement, the aim being to avoid the emergence of new dividing lines between an enlarged EU and its neighbours: according to the ENP's official website, "the ENP goes beyond existing relationships to offer a deeper political relationship and economic integration." But does it? That was the question on the table this week during, "From Partnership to neighborhood: A better path for the Euro-Mediterranean Future", a workshop organised by Cairo University's Centre for European Studies and the Konrad Adenauer-Foundation. "This is an extremely important topic given the EU is our largest partner and when you consider the danger of the current situation within the region," explained Mona El-Baradei, dean of the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University. Does the ENP represent a shift in the EU's focus on the south of the Mediterranean region in favour of its eastern border? Does the strategy have aims other than securing the process of EU expansion and what is the level of southern participation in the action plans? Such were the questions raised within the workshop. In the words of Michael Lange, resident representative of the Konrad Adenauer-Foundation in Cairo, "the characterisation of the relationship under the word 'partner' signified choice. However, the word neighbour indicates a relationship dictated by fate. We hope this is merely a semantic distinction." "The concept of neighbours goes beyond that of partnership," opined Klaus Juergen Hedricyh, former parliamentary state secretary to the federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, "it is a word that has an emotional quality." And yet as Heba Handoussa, professor of economics at the American University in Cairo (AUC), pointed out, to date "implementation [of the Barcelona Process] has been extremely slow and the response of people is that it has made no difference to us". While she agrees that a large part of the blame for this falls on Egyptian shoulders, she also suggests that the EU has not gone about fostering development in neighbouring countries in the same, successful way that it went about developing countries in southern Europe such as Spain, Greece and Ireland. "We are not moving towards ways to illustrate that our region is different than others to Europe. And while the EU may be the largest trade partner this actually means very little in actual terms and the same can be said for investment." What has gone wrong? Handoussa argues that the political and cultural aspects of partnership have not been sufficiently stressed. "The link between the three baskets [economic, political and cultural components] that make up the Barcelona Process has never been strong enough. If we want to succeed, the political and cultural dimensions are crucial to the success of the economic." Which is where the shift to the Neighbourhood Policy becomes crucial: "The shift from EMP to ENP is extremely valuable because it forces us to deal with the cultural aspects [of development] that should have been dealt with in Barcelona." Hanaa Kheireddin, professor of economics at Cairo University's Faculty of Economics and Political Science, believes the ENP constitutes little more than a forum within which dialogue between south and north may continue. "The EU has no unified political stand and so when it comes to political problems little is done other than talking. The same goes for trade. I am not convinced that the ENP offers anything more than Barcelona, any added value." In the presentation made by Ahmed Ghoneim, associate professor of economics at Cairo University and the new head of the Centre for European Studies, the ENP is not expected to offer much to the south of the Mediterranean because it "has no strong enforcing mechanism" and mandates "vague targets that include anything and everything". He also suggests that the wording of the ENP "dilutes the Barcelona process as the attention of the EU is likely to be diverted to new neighbours." Michael Ryan, counsellor of political, economic, trade, information and cultural affairs at the EU delegation in Cairo refuted many of these reservations. "A system of technical sub-committees will translate the ENP into practical programmes and become the engine for implementing this policy," he explained. He denies that the EU's attention is being diverted elsewhere. "Sixty-nine per cent of the budget has been pledged to south of the Mediterranean countries which when compared to 70 per cent between 2000 and 2006 indicates that there is no loss of interest in the region." While the intent and capability of ENP is being debated, issues of contention between the EU and its southern neighbours remain formidable. There is, for example, immigration. "It is a most deplorable situation that Europe should have ignored formulating a policy that would absorb a reasonable number of well-trained youth. It is impossible to be serious [about partnership] when I know that my neighbour in the North will not discuss and solve the situation and condition of immigrants," said Ryan. The other side of the coin was voiced by Hedricyh who suggested that, "we need to consider that 20 or 30 million young people migrating from the South to Europe could solve many of the South countries' problems but also bring down the social systems of Europe." Another bottleneck to improved and better relations is the debate over religion. "The quest for democracy and human rights is not just about one free election. Hitler came to power via a democratic election but there was never a second," said Hedricyh. It is the kind of consideration that puts people in front of difficult choices. "I was one of those who felt relieved that the military in Algeria kept the FIS from coming to power," he said. Yet Isabel Schafer, of the Free University of Berlin, pointed out in her presentation on the cultural dimension of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership that, "antagonism to Islam is also, and has been for a very long time, part of the identity definition of Europe and of its collective identity". This aspect of the European psyche was exacerbated towards the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s within the context social pressure created by growing migration to Europe. Within this context, "the south of the Mediterranean was more and more perceived as a threat to European security and stability." Handoussa suggested that people from both sides of the Mediterranean need to work together on issues that go beyond that of trade and consider the more serious and fundamental questions that continue to create hiccups in their relationship. "I have a dream that all countries around the Mediterranean will live in harmony; that their citizens will all enjoy a decent life," said Hedricyh. It is a sentiment no doubt shared by everyone in the neighbourhood. How it is to be realised, though, remains an issue of more than debate.
