Global Watch

Blackberry Under the Spotlight D THE MEDITERRANEAN UNION

Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) is a multilateral partnership that encompasses 43 countries from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin: the 27 member states of the European Union and 16 Mediterranean partner countries from North Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans. It was created in July 2008 as a re-launched Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (the Barcelona Process), when a plan to create an autonomous Mediterranean Union was dropped. The Union has the aim of promoting stability and prosperity throughout the Mediterranean region. Nevertheless, its 2009 and 2010 Summits could not be held due to the stalemate of the Arab-Israeli peace process after the Gaza war. The Union for the Mediterranean introduced new institutions into the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership with the aim of increasing its visibility such as the creation of a Secretariat. The commercial connections between the European countries and the African ones are very important. They have created the premises for a future economic union between the Mediterranean non European states and the communitarian countries. The Mediterranean Union reunites countries from Europe, Middle Est. and North Africa countries that have access to the Mediterranean Sea, forming an economic community by taking the model of the early European Union. As it would be formed by the E.U. states and the Mediterranean countries, the Mediterranean Union would have a State President Council, an executive council, ministerial councils, a Permanent Commission that would act like a Secretary Department, a consolidated Parliament reunion and its own bank. Such an organization could have a big role in the area in solving diverse problems, form ecological issues to immigration From the European Union side: the 27 European Union member states (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.)

From the side of the Mediterranean Partner countries: Albania, Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria (self suspended on 22 June 2011), Tunisia and Turkey. Libya as an observer state.

De-pollution of the Medi terranean. This broad project encompasses many initiatives that target good environmental governance, access to drinkable water, water management, pollution reduction and protection of the Mediterranean biodiversity. Maritime and land highways . The purpose of this project is to increase and improve the circulation of commodities and people throughout the Euro Mediterranean region by improving its ports, and building highways and railways. Specifically, the Paris and Marseilles Declarations refer to the construction of both a Trans-Maghrebi railway and highway systems, connecting Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Civil protection . The civil protection project aims at improving the prevention, preparedness and response to both natural and man-made disasters. The ultimate goal is to "bring the Mediterranean Partner Countries progressively closer to the European Civil Protection Mechanism. Alternative energies: Mediterranean solar plan. The goal of this project is to promote the production and use of renewable energies. More specifically, it aims at turning the Mediterranean partner countries into producers of solar energy and then circulating the resulting electricity through the Euro Mediterranean region.

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