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The World Today - July issue
30 June 2008
As President Sarkozy prepares to reinvigorate the regional arrangement between the EU and the Mediterranean - the Barcelona Process - Claire Spencer argues in Europe and the Mediterranean: Eyeing Other Shores, that the project is flawed having failed 'to escape its underlying logic: that it is a European initiative'. As such, the process has been designed to meet Europe's own regional objectives rather than foster cooperation and integration.
It is not clear why there is a need for another regional Mediterranean Partnership. The slow results of existing efforts suggest the current framework could be part of the problem as much as the solution. And yet, President Sarkozy has gone to great lengths in promoting his new framework for regional cooperation, soon to be adopted by the EU. With France leading the union's initial launch and project selection, there are grave suspicions that it will be used to advance French commercial interests under an EU umbrella.
To survive, the scheme must be flexible and new mechanisms will be needed to overcome the deficiencies of the Barcelona Process itself, as well as its new addition. It must be visible through the direct engagement of those most immediately motivated by shared interests on both sides of the Mediterranean.
Full list of contents:
European Union Treaty: Trust the People
Robin Shepherd
Ireland No Vote: Ways Out of the Irish Puzzle
Thomas Legge
Europe and the Mediterranean: Eyeing Other Shores
Claire Spencer
South Africa: Fundamental Failures
Merle Lipton
Book Review: Good for Government
Alex Vines
Small Arms: Gun Control
Eric Berman
The Gulf in the G8 Agenda: Top Table Time?
Vanessa Rossi and Ruth Davis
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Policy: Discreet Persuasion
Neil Partrick
Energy for Asia: Chasing Pipe Dreams
Elizabeth Mills
Burma after the Cyclone: Making a Disaster Out of a Cyclone
Ashley South
Analysing North Korea: Big Wheel Turning
Rudiger Frank
Profile - Sir Richard Dearlove: Overestimating Al Qaeda?
Sean Armstrong
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