THE EUROPEAN UNION’S MEDITERRANEAN POLICY AND

Abstract

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, writing in The Economist of 11 October 2002, called for “a simple statement of what the European Union is”, and gave his own definition as “a union of sovereign states who have decided to pool some of [their] sovereignty, [the] better to secure peace and prosperity in Europe and the wider world”.1 Annex 1 of the Millennium Declaration of the European Council held at Helsinki on 10-11 December 1999 stated, “The EU is based on democracy and the rule of law”, and “The Union’s citizens are bound together by common values such as freedom, tolerance, equality, solidarity and cultural diversity”. It also declared, “The Union shares a growing global responsibility for promoting wellbeing, preventing conflicts and securing peace”. It promised to strengthen stability and prosperity in Europe by enlarging the Union, and co-operating with partner countries for a “more open and stable international economy; benefiting also people in less favoured parts of the world... and creating military and civil capabilities to manage international crises, and to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need”.