The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM; , Al-Ittiḥād min ajl al-Mutawasseṭ) is an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states from Europe and the Mediterranean basin: all 27 European Union member states (including those not on the Mediterranean) and 16 Mediterranean partner countries from North Africa, Southern Europe, and West Asia.
The UfM was founded on 13 July 2008 at the Paris Summit for the Mediterranean, with the aim of reinforcing the Euro-Mediterranean (Euromed) partnership set out in 1995 as the Barcelona Process. It seeks to promote stability, integration, and socioeconomic development throughout the Mediterranean region; to this end, the union identifies and supports regional projects and initiatives spanning six sectors of activity: Business Development & Employment; Higher Education & Research; Social & Civil Affairs; Energy & Climate Action; Transport & Urban Development; and Water, Environment & Blue Economy.
The UfM is governed by a co-presidency shared between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean; policies and activities are promulgated through regular meetings of senior officials from the foreign ministries of member states, as well as from EU institutions and the Arab League. The organization is administered by a general secretariat based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, which is directed by the secretary general and supported by six deputy secretary generals (DSGs).
Members
The members of the Union of the Mediterranean are the following (those on the Mediterranean in bold): From the European Union side: The 27 European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. The European Commission. From the side of the Mediterranean Partner countries: 16 member states: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Morocco, Palestine, Syria (suspended 2011; reentered in 2025), Tunisia and Turkey.
Additionally, Libya is an observer state. The UfM has expressed a desire to grant Libya full membership, and Mohamed Abdelaziz, Libya's Foreign Minister from January 2013 to August 2014, once stated that his country is "open" to joining. The Arab League also participates in UfM meetings.
History
Context
Antecedents: Barcelona Process
The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, also known as the Barcelona Process, was created in 1995 as a result of the Conference of Euro-Mediterranean Ministers of Foreign Affairs held in Barcelona on 27 and 28 November under the Spanish presidency of the EU. The founding act of the Partnership in 1995 and Final Declaration of the Barcelona Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference is called the Barcelona Declaration, which is often used to refer to the Process itself.
The Partnership culminated in a series of attempts by European countries to articulate their relations with their North African and Middle Eastern neighbours: the global Mediterranean policy (1972–1992) and the renovated Mediterranean policy (1992–1995).
Javier Solana opened the conference by 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 Solana, who represented Spain as its foreign minister during the country's turn at the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, was credited with the diplomatic accomplishment.
According to the 1995 Barcelona Declaration, the aim of the initiative was summed up as: "turning the Mediterranean basin into an area of dialogue, exchange and cooperation guaranteeing peace, stability and prosperity". The Declaration established the three main objectives of the Partnership, called "baskets" (i.e., strands or facets): Definition of a common area of peace and stability through the reinforcement of political and security dialogue (Political and Security Basket). Construction of a zone of shared prosperity through an economic and financial partnership and the gradual establishment of a free-trade area (Economic and Financial Basket). Rapprochement between peoples through a social, cultural and human partnership aimed at encouraging understanding between cultures and exchanges between civil societies (Social, Cultural and Human Basket).
The European Union stated the intention of the partnership was "to strengthen its relations with the countries in the Mashreq and Maghreb regions". Both Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat praised Solana's coordination of 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 Mediterranean Basin by 2010.
The agenda of the Barcelona Process is: 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", in EU jargon, or strands: economic – to work for shared prosperity in the Mediterranean Region, including the Association Agreements on the bilateral level political – promotion of political values, good governance and democracy cultural – cultural exchange and strengthening civil society
The Euro-Mediterranean free trade area (EU-MEFTA) is based on the Barcelona Process and European Neighbourhood Policy. The Agadir Agreement of 2004 is seen as its first building block.
At the time of its creation, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership comprised 27 member countries: 15 from the European Union and 12 Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey). As a result of the European Union's enlargements of 2004 and 2007 the number of EU member states grew up to 27, and two of the Mediterranean partner countries—Cyprus and Malta—became part of the European Union. The EU enlargement changed the configuration of the Barcelona Process from "15+12" to "27+10". Albania and Mauritania joined the Barcelona Process in 2007, raising the number of participants to 39.
Euromediterranean Summit 2005 The 10th anniversary Euromediterranean summit was held in Barcelona on 27–28 November 2005. Full members of the Barcelona Process were: 27 Member States of the European Union. 10 countries from the southern Mediterranean shore: Algeria, Palestine, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey (already part of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the latter began EU accession talks on 3 October). Croatia, a candidate to join the EU, which began accession talks on 3 October. The European Parliament, the European Commission, and the Secretary General of the Council of the EU Moreover, the Barcelona Process included 6 countries and institutions participating as permanent observers (Libya, Mauritania, the Secretary-General of the Arab League) and invited observers, such as the European Investment Bank, the Arab Maghreb Union, the Anna Lindh Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures, the Economical and Social Committee or the Euromed Economical and Social Councils.
According to the ISN, "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were the only leaders from the Mediterranean countries to attend, while those of Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt were not present."
From the official web site, "The new realities and challenges of the 21st century make it necessary to update the Barcelona Declaration and create a new Action Plan (based on the good results of the Valencia Action Plan), encompassing four fundamental areas": Peace, Security, Stability, Good Government, and Democracy. Sustainable Economic Development and Reform. Education and Cultural Exchange Justice, Security, Migration, and Social Integration (of Immigrants).
Regional aspects Regional dialogue represents one of the most innovative aspects of the Partnership, covering at the same time the political, economic and cultural fields (regional co-operation). Regional co-operation has a considerable strategic impact as it deals with problems that are common to many Mediterranean Partners while it emphasises the national complementarities.
The multilateral dimension supports and complements the bilateral actions and dialogue taking place under the Association Agreements.
Since 2004 the Mediterranean Partners are also included in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and since 2007 are funded via the ENPI.
The Euromed Heritage Programme As a result of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the Euromed Heritage program was formed. This program has been active since 1998, and has been involved in programs to identify the cultural heritages of Mediterranean states, promote their preservation, and educate the peoples of partner countries about their cultural heritages.
Response By some analysts, the process has been declared ineffective . The stalling of the Middle East Peace Process is having an impact on the Barcelona Process and is hindering progress especially in the first 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.
Bishara Khader argues that this ambitious European project towards its Mediterranean neighbours has to be understood in a context of optimism. On the one hand, the European Community was undergoing important changes due to the reunification of Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the beginning of the adhesion negotiations of Eastern and Central European countries. On the other, the Arab–Israeli conflict appeared to be getting closer to achieving peace after the Madrid Conference (1991) and the Oslo Accords (1992). As well, Khader states that the Gulf War of 1991, the Algerian crisis (from 1992 onwards) and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism throughout the Arab world are also important factors in Europe's new relations with the Mediterranean countries based on security concerns.