It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Euromediterranean Partnership. (Discuss)

The Barcelona Conference or Common Strategy on the Mediterranean Region occurred on November 27-November 28, 1995. It was attended by the then 15 European Union (EU) members and 12 countries of the Mediterranean Basin. The United States requested participant status and was granted observer status. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Barcelona Conference. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... November 28 is the 332nd day (333rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Observer status is a process defined in the World Health Organization (WHO) Constitution which permits the World Health Assembly (WHA) to invite any organization, international or national, governmental or non-governmental, which has responsibilities related to those of the Organization, to appoint representatives to participate, without right of vote, in...

Role

Its agenda was the following:

• Security and stability in the Mediterranean;
• Agreeing on shared values and initializing a long-term process for cooperation in the Mediterranean;
• Promoting democracy, good governance and human rights;
• Achieving mutually satisfactory trading terms for the region's partners, the "region" consisting of the countries that participated;
• Establishing a complementary policy to the United States' presence in the Mediterranean.

The Barcelona Process comprises three "baskets":

• economic - to work for shared prosperity in the Mediterranean, including the Association Agreements on the bilateral level
• political - promotion of political values, good governance and democracy
• cultural - cultural exchange and strengthening civil society

Javier Solana opened the conference saying that they were brought together to straighten out the "clash of civilizations" and misunderstandings that there had been between them, and that it "was auspicious" that they had convened on the 900th anniversary of the First Crusade. He described the conference as a process to foster cultural and economic unity in the Mediterranean region. The Barcelona Treaty was drawn up by the 27 countries in attendance, and Javier Solana, who represented Spain as their foreign minister during their turn at the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, was credited with the diplomatic accomplishment. Javier Solana Francisco Javier Solana Madariaga (born July 14, 1942 in Madrid, Spain) is the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Secretary-General of both the Council of the European Union (EU) and the Western European Union (WEU). ... Combatants Christendom, Catholicism West European Christians, Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia Seljuks, Arabs and other Muslims The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II with the dual goals of liberating the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslims and freeing the Eastern Christians from Muslim... A minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the governmental foreign policy of a sovereign nation. ... Presidency of the Council of the European Union refers to the responsibility of presiding over all aspects of the Council of the European Union, when exercised collectively by a government, on a pre-established rota of the member states, of the European Union. ...

Afterwards

Both Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat had high praises for Solana's coordination of the Barcelona Process. Ehud Barak said they had all beaten their swords into ploughshares and that at last Israel had joined the "European Club".^{[citation needed]} Libya was not present at the Conference as Colonel Gaddafi claimed it was a blatant European attempt to gain hegemony outside its borders.^{[citation needed]} However, in 2000, both Gaddafi and his country acknowledged and signed up for the principles laid out in the Barcelona Process. The Barcelona Process, developed after the Conference in successive annual meetings, is a set of goals designed to lead to a free trade area in the Middle East by 2010. Solana has said that by the tenth anniversary of the conference true Middle East peace might be achieved.^{[citation needed]} The Euro-Mediterranean free trade area (EU-MEFTA) is based on the Barcelona Process and ENP. The Agadir Agreement of 2004 is seen as its first building block. Ehud Barak (Hebrew: אֵהוּד בָּרָק) (born Ehud Brog on February 12, 1942, in Mishmar HaSharon kibbutz,[1] then British Mandate of Palestine) is an Israeli politician and was the 10th Prime Minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001. ... Not to be confused with Yasir Arafat (cricketer). ... Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century Look up Sword in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A plowshare (ploughshare or plough share except in North America) is the cutting blade of a plow. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... Muammar Abu Minyar al-Qaddafi 1 — pronounced Gaddafi — (Arabic: معمر القذافي ) (born c. ... A free trade area is a designated group of countries that have agreed to eliminate tariffs, quotas and preferences on most (if not all) goods between them. ... The Euro-Mediterranean free trade area (EU-MEFTA) is based on the Barcelona Process and European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). ... The conference is sometimes referred to by European sources as Common Strategy on the EU countries, and 12 Middle East and North African countries. ... The European Neighbourhood is the region beyond the frontier of the European Union. ... Map of the Agadir Agreement Members It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Barcelona Conference. ...

Current situation

By some analysts, the process has been declared ineffective. The blockade of the Middle East Peace Process is having an impact on the Barcelona Process and is hindering progress especially in the second basket. The economic basket can be considered a success, and there have been more projects for the exchange on a cultural level and between the peoples in the riparian states. Other criticism is mainly based on the predominant role the European Union is playing. Normally it is the EU that is assessing the state of affairs which leads to the impression that the North is dictating the South what to do. The question of an enhanced co-ownership of the process has repeatedly been brought up over the last years.

Being a long-term process and much more complex than any other similar project, it may be many years before a final judgement can be made.

Conference members

At the initial meeting in 1995, the following members were present and agreed to the Barcelona Declaration:

The 15 EU member states of the time

•  Austria
•  Belgium
•  Denmark
•  Germany
•  Spain
•  Finland
•  France
•  Greece
•  Ireland
•  Italy
•  Luxembourg
•  Netherlands
•  Portugal
•  United Kingdom
•  Sweden

12 governments from the wider Mediterranean region

•  Algeria
•  Cyprus
•  Egypt
•  Israel
•  Jordan
•  Lebanon
•  Malta
•  Morocco
•  Syria
•  Tunisia
•  Turkey
•  Palestinian Authority

Representatives from two european institutions

• Council of the European Union
• European Commission

Image File history File links Flag_of_Austria. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Denmark. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Finland_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Greece. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ireland_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Luxembourg. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Portugal. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Algeria_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Cyprus_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Egypt. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Israel_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Jordan. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Lebanon. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Malta_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Morocco. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Syria. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Tunisia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Turkey. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Palestine. ... Anthem: Biladi Capital Ramallah and Gaza de facto, as the current location of government institutions. ... Image File history File links European_flag. ... The Justus Lipsius building, the headquarter of the EU Council in Brussels The Council of the European Union (German: Rat der Europäischen Union, French: Le Conseil de lUnion européenne), is a governing body that forms, along with the European Parliament, the legislative arm of the European Union... Image File history File links European_flag. ... The Commission seat in Brussels The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive body of the European Union. ...

See also

• Euro-Mediterranian Assembly
• Third country relationships with the EU
• European Neighbourhood Policy
• Mediterranean Union

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Barcelona Conference. ... The European Union has a number of relationships with nations that are not formally part of the Union. ... The European Neighbourhood is the region beyond the frontier of the European Union. ... Possible membership of the Mediterranean Union. ...

External links

• Euro-Mediterranean Partnership page on the Barcelona Declaration
• List of attendees, in Spanish
• Promoting Middle East Democracy: European Initiatives U.S. Institute of Peace, October 2004