International
‘Med Union’ to be Unveiled on Sunday
By Rachelle Kliger, The Media Line 11/7/08
Jul 12, 2008 - 9:13:41 AM

The new partnership, the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean, has encountered criticism from both Europe and from Arab states.
 
The idea was proposed by France and endorsed by European Union leaders as a way of bolstering ties between Europe and its southern neighbors and improving security and trade cooperation.
 
Besides the economic benefits, the union is also seen as a way to bolster political ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
 
Arab states are concerned that their joining a union which includes Israel implies they are normalizing relations with the Jewish state.  They do not wish to be in such a union, as long as Israel fails to make concessions in its negotiations with Palestinians and the Syrians.
 
Three of the 22 Arab League members – Egypt, Jordan and Mauritania – have full diplomatic relations with Israel.  Libya has been the most outspoken in its opposition to the idea.  Libyan President Mu’ammar Al-Qadhafi has slammed the proposal, labeling it an “insult” to Arabs and Africans and a revival of colonialist policies.
 
He urged Arab leaders to turn down the proposal, and said the idea was doomed from the start.  “We do not belong to Brussels,” he said.  A source at the EU said it came as no surprise that Libya was criticizing the project, given its scaled-back involvement in the Barcelona Process.
 
Improving ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors has always been a feature of the Barcelona Process, the source said, and there is no reason this should stop now.  “Outside the United Nations it’s the only forum where Israel can sit around the same table with Arab neighbors, including countries with which it has no diplomatic relations, such as Lebanon and Syria,” he said.
 
Regarding fears that Israel will be isolated in the new union, the source said this concern will be mitigated somewhat by the fact that several members of the new union belong to the southern bloc of non-European states and are not Arab, such as Turkey, Albania and Croatia.  He believed Israel would likely not be cast aside.  “I understand that most heads of state will be there, which indicates willingness from the start,” he said.


Source: Ocnus.net 2008