Mr President, five years on from the Barcelona Conference, it is time to take stock of the situation. Last March, the European Parliament approved a resolution which made a critical analysis of the policies and instruments of the Partnership, proposing some substantial changes. In June 2000, the Feira Council adopted a common Mediterranean strategy and, after proposing and obtaining endorsement for reform of the Meda regulation, the Commission recently tabled a document on reinvigorating the Barcelona Process. All this shows that we are aware of how inadequate the results achieved thus far have been, although I feel that the responses are not yet sufficient to deal with the situation, even though it is true that five years are certainly not a very long time over which to judge such complex processes. Nevertheless, the process which commenced in Barcelona, based on three pillars – political, economic and cultural – was subject to three constraints, now generally well recognised, and Commissioner Patten touched upon them in his speech. The first concerned the preference shown for free trade, which is linked to the process of economic and commercial liberalisation in terms of codevelopment, economic integration, social policies, cultural dialogue and the training and enhancement of human resources. The second constraint concerned the type of relationship there should be between the European Union and the Mediterranean partner countries. In fact, we observe that the still-prevailing bilateral dimension, which is anything but easy to negotiate and takes a long time to ratify, is in danger of increasingly shaping the economies of these countries on the basis of their trade with the Union, hampering the development of the south-south dimension, especially because of the partner countries' difficulty in establishing mutual cooperative relations. The third constraint concerns the regrettable involvement of the European and Mediterranean civil societies in this process, which is still too dominated by centralism and the almost exclusive role of the governments. I have stressed these aspects because they contain the key to reinvigorating the Process, and the enhancement of the Barcelona political agenda must be added to all this. It is, in fact, inconceivable that the agricultural policy, the control of migration flows and the debt should not be at the centre of the Euro-Mediterranean project now. As regards agriculture, I would like to point out that Parliament has undertaken to organise a conference next spring. Moreover, the tragic interruption of the Middle East Peace Process is changing the situation in the region. Unfortunately, the European Union had based its entire policy upon the success of the Oslo Accords. In fact, the Council's common strategy followed this line. On the other hand, the Euro-Mediterranean Ministerial Conference, which is to open tomorrow in Marseilles, is set against the backdrop of a tragic situation which will make Europe's role in the region even more sensitive and lead the Union to assume a more substantial political role in the Israel-Palestine conflict. The fact that, despite this situation, the 27 partners have confirmed their willingness to meet in Marseilles, at least for the moment, is already in itself an indication that all is not lost, although I agree entirely with Commissioner Patten that the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership policy must not become a hostage to the peace process. In fact, I will go further and say that, in the past, the peace process has served as an excuse for both Europe and for the Mediterranean partners not to be more courageous. This is why I feel that the debate taking place today could serve to make us aware that this policy is of key importance for the entire Union.

Political group: PSE