THE EU AND MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES
Abstract
-Several years ago I was asked by CEPS (Center for European Policy Studies)
to prepare a report on the Mediterranean economy as a contribution to a collective
work1
• The first question I asked myself was whether to include in my report those
Medijerranean countries which were members of the EU. The same question could
be addressed today having been asked to report on the EU and Mediterranean countries.
Does the latter concept strictly refer to non-EU members? Of course not and I
want from this podium to attract your attention to the widely-spread confusion being
made when dealing with the EU's external relations between Mediterranean countries
and what is actually the Maghreb, the Mashrek, Israel and Turkey. This leaves
out not only some EU member countries, but ex-Yugoslavia, Albania, Cyprus and
Malta. But in order to get a sense of the reasons of the present excijement, if not
alarm, manifested by public officials when dealing with this part of the EU's internal
and external periphery it us useful to compare basic data off all Medijerranean neighbouring
countries.
Keywords
THE EU AND MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES
Abstract
Several years ago I was asked by CEPS (Center for European Policy Studies)
to prepare a report on the Mediterranean economy as a contribution to a collective
work1
• The first question I asked myself was whether to include in my report those
Medijerranean countries which were members of the EU. The same question could
be addressed today having been asked to report on the EU and Mediterranean countries.
Does the latter concept strictly refer to non-EU members? Of course not and I
want from this podium to attract your attention to the widely-spread confusion being
made when dealing with the EU's external relations between Mediterranean countries
and what is actually the Maghreb, the Mashrek, Israel and Turkey. This leaves
out not only some EU member countries, but ex-Yugoslavia, Albania, Cyprus and
Malta. But in order to get a sense of the reasons of the present excijement, if not
alarm, manifested by public officials when dealing with this part of the EU's internal
and external periphery it us useful to compare basic data off all Medijerranean neighbouring
countries.
Keywords
