Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Euro-Mediterranean partnership — review and prospects five years on"
Date: 2001-10-18
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: EU programme, European Union, Mediterranean third countries, cooperation policy

8.2.2002

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Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Euro-Mediterranean partnership —
review and prospects five years on’

(2002/C 36/24)

On 12 and 13 July 2000 the Economic and Social Committee decided, in accordance with Rule 23(3) of
its Rules of Procedure, to draw up an opinion on the ‘Euro-Mediterranean partnership — review and
prospects five years on’.

The Section for External Relations, which was responsible for preparing the Committee’s work on the
subject, adopted its opinion on 4 October 2001. The rapporteur was Mr Dimitriadis.

At its 385th plenary session of 17 and 18 October 2001 (meeting of 18 October), the Economic and
Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 87 votes to one, with no abstentions.

1.

Introduction

success has been achieved, but the Euro-Med partnership is
still a long way from achieving the results originally expected
from it.

Since 1960 the European Union has developed a range
1.1.
of policies to achieve closer relations with Mediterranean
countries, and it has created a framework which has enabled it
to achieve key relationships going beyond the traditional limits
of mere trading relations.

2. Assessment of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership

1.2.
From the beginning of the 1990s, the European Union,
after similar experience in its own area, sought to establish
links with Mediterranean countries with a view to developing
more dynamic forms of cooperation, and to avoiding the
situation which had prevailed up to then, in which Europe
would prepare proposals for cooperation and the Mediterrane-
an partners would either accept or reject them, although they
did not all have the technical knowledge to develop and
manage these proposals.

2.1.
It is a fact that the original expectations of the Euro-
Med partnership were high, and in some cases particularly
high. However, a regular dialogue was set up between the
27 partners on consolidating security and stability in the
Mediterranean region and on enabling joint initiatives to be
undertaken (it is significant here that the Euro-Med partnership
succeeded in bringing to the dialogue table representatives
from Lebanon, Syria, Israel and the Palestinian Authority).

A decisive step in this direction was the Barcelona
1.3.
Inter-Ministerial Declaration (1), at a conference in which
27 countries took part (15 members of the European Union
and 12 Mediterranean countries), where the foundations were
laid for the implementation of an ambitious plan comprising
three key objectives:

— a political and security component aimed at defining a

common area of peace and stability;

— an economic and financial component aimed at building
an area of shared prosperity (establishing a Free Trade
Zone in 2010);

— human, social and cultural progress.

In the relatively short period of

1.4.
five years since
the start of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership considerable

(1) The Barcelona Declaration was adopted by the Euro-Mediterrane-
an conference of Foreign Ministers (27-28 November 1995).

Also important is the fact that the EU has brought
2.1.1.
Libya into the Euro-Mediterranean partnership framework,
with the first official invitation to Libyan representatives to
attend the Stuttgart Meeting on 15-16 April 1999. However,
progress in negotiations with Libya has been slight; the last
round did not lead to any official commitment to accepting
the content of the Barcelona Declaration.

2.2. Moreover, multilateral cooperation is as common as
the traditional bilateral approaches. In addition, substantial
sums were committed to developing the Euro-Med partnership
through the MEDA programme and through EIB loans. The
MEDA programme was the main funding source of the Euro-
Med partnership, and it was applied to all three components
of the Barcelona Declaration.

Bilateral association agreements have been drawn up
2.3.
which cover economic liberalisation and the strengthening of
market mechanisms, subject however to the necessary atten-
tion being given to safeguarding social equilibria and encourag-
ing convergence of the economies. These agreements envisage
cooperation in the widest sense, and include an important
dimension of culture and civilisation, which should finally lead

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to greater stability and cooperation in the Mediterranean area,
harmonising and unifying the progress of the peoples of the
region.

development. The cultural dialogue presupposes cultural
exchange and mobility, which is not always feasible.

2.4.
The strategic importance of the EU’s southern neigh-
bours is recognised by all the Member States of the EU; in
addition, the first encouraging results of the Mediterranean
partners’ reconstruction efforts are beginning to appear.

2.5.
However, in the same period certain critical voices
were raised on the need to examine the economic aims of the
Euro-Med partnership on the one hand, and stressing the
weakness of its social component on the other.

2.6.
The early stages of the Euro-Med partnership were
marked by a plethora of activities without any clear priorities.
Completion of the plans was generally slow. It is also necessary
to stress the fact that the Mediterranean partner countries
(MPCs) encountered problems in the take-up of funds allocated
to them — problems which were visible mainly in terms of
the technical difficulties of applying the initiatives.

2.7.
Establishing the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) has proved to
be much more difficult than expected, as can be seen from
the slow progress in the negotiations for the association
agreements, which is due among other things to the slowness
of the ratification procedures in the relevant parliamentary
bodies. The responsibility here lies mainly with the Member
States of the EU. In addition, the promotion of economic and
political cooperation among the MPCs continues to make slow
progress, thereby failing to attract the interest of international
investor firms,
large financial bodies and venture capital
partners, the presence of which is necessary for promoting
large-scale infrastructure projects (e.g. telecommunications,
transport etc.).

2.8.
The deadlock and continual ups-and-downs of the
Middle East peace process have given rise to considerable delay
in more general regional cooperation.

2.9.
Unfortunately the signing of the Association Agree-
ments, which include specific clauses on democracy and
human rights, does not prevent the continuous worsening of
the situation in certain countries, while the spirit of the
partnership was such as to contribute to a sufficiently frank
and serious dialogue on subjects such as human rights,
prevention of terrorism or migration.

It must be stressed that, right up to the year 2000,
2.11.
the countries of
the eastern Mediterranean were under-
represented at the annual meetings of the Economic and Social
Councils and similar organisations. The causes of this must be
sought in the shortage or total absence of information for
the bodies representing organised civil society in the Euro-
Mediterranean dialogue. For this reason, the representatives of
organisations in those countries find no valid reason for them
to participate actively in the dialogue, and their governments
do not seek to involve them because of lack of integration of
the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the operation
of society and the economy. It must also be emphasised that
the eastern Mediterranean do not have
the countries of
Economic and Social Councils (ESCs) or similar bodies capable
of representing them; nor do they possess the structures or the
necessary resources to play an active role in the Euro-
Mediterranean partnership.

2.12.
During the period of operation of the MEDA Pro-
gramme (1995-1999), bilateral cooperation (about 90 %) far
exceeded regional cooperation (about 10 %), yet the latter is of
vital importance for creating a space for dialogue, exchanges
and cooperation which are a fundamental aim of the partner-
ship link (1).

2.13.
The insufficiency observed in regional cooperation is
even more marked in decentralised. Programmes have been
adopted for the latter, but they have not begun to materialise
despite the fact that three years have already elapsed. This
creates a great deal of anxiety about the continuation of
decentralised cooperation, and there are fears that the pro-
grammes of smaller scope may disappear altogether, although
they are necessary to strengthen the social fabric.

2.14.
The pace of economic reform in the Mediterranean
partners has been disappointing. Trade between the Mediter-
ranean partners (‘south-south trade’) has not risen above the
very low initial level; it represents less than 6 % of total trade
in Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, while the level of EU
investment in the region remains particularly low and is
significantly lower than investment flows to other parts of the
world (2).

3. The ESC’s views on the Euro-Mediterranean partner-

ship

3.1.
One of the major achievements of the EU in the last
30 years is the fact that citizens and various bodies now
communicate through many different channels. The role of

2.10. We must not underestimate the difficulties involved
in the dialogue between countries with differing political,
social, economic and cultural backgrounds, since there are
types of experience and stages of social
many different

(1) COM(2000) 472 final.
(2) COM(2000) 497 final.

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the intermediary bodies is particularly important: in addition
to playing a specific social role, they provide independent
services and organise information campaigns promoting
important subjects; at the same time, they have the capacity to
influence governments and decisions taken at political level,
while having no direct political allegiance.

ening democratisation and human rights, and while a series of
meetings and conferences were held between representatives
of civil society, the results of the social aspect of the partnership
and of the civil society approach are still insignificant.

3.2.
The ESC believes that the weakness of the Euro-
Mediterranean partnership lies precisely in the emphasis on its
political and economic content, with social content seriously
lacking. This fact also emerges from the nature of the bilateral
association agreements. The Euro-Mediterranean agreements
express the EU’s desire for ‘controlled liberalisation’, meaning
the opening up of markets accompanied by attempts to
mitigate the complications arising from the powerful shock of
structural changes. Finally, however, the results originally
expected in the social sector have not yet been achieved.

Liberalisation alone,

3.2.1.
in a context of considerable
inequalities, cannot guarantee either economic growth or
the restructuring of particularly fragmented societies and
economies,
let alone the creation of an ‘area of shared
prosperity’. In addition, the Euro-Mediterranean FTZ operates
under the conditions laid down by Europe: up to now, it
for which European
concerns mainly industrial products,
countries are particularly competitive vis-à-vis Mediterranean
countries, while tending to neglect agricultural products, which
are of special importance to the Mediterranean countries. The
FTZ as it stands is only a partial response to the challenges
posed by the chasm separating the two sides of the Mediter-
ranean.

3.3.
Despite the successful impact of the Euromed Heri-
tage (1), Euromed Audiovisual (2), and Euromed Youth (3) pro-
grammes on strengthening the social aspect of the partnership,
and of the MEDA Democracy programme (4) aimed at strength-

(1) The Euromed Heritage programme was put into practice in
September 1998,
the
Ministers of Culture adopted at the Bologna Conference in April
1996.

following on from the declaration of

(2) The Euromed Audiovisual programme was implemented from
August 1998 onwards, and followed on from the results of the
Thessaloniki conference of November 1997.

(3) The Euromed Youth programme came into operation at the start
of 1999 and followed on from the results of the second Malta
conference of April 1997.

(4) The MEDA Democracy programme is the result of the initiative
taken by the European Parliament in 1994, and of the ensuing
Euro-Mediterranean cooperation; the aims of the programme
were publicised in a European Commission document of 17 July
1996 entitled ‘Euromed Democracy Programme, Budget Line B7-
705N — Criteria and Conditions of Eligibility’.

3.4.
The decentralised cooperation programmes (Med-Urbs,
Med-Campus, Med-Media) are intended to encourage civil
society organisations on both sides of the Mediterranean to
meet and draw up plans jointly; they have come to a standstill
since 1995 through poor internal management. The European
Commission is determined to discontinue these programmes,
taking the view that the management of the micro-pro-
grammes is particularly difficult because it requires consider-
able human and financial resources.

3.4.1
The ESC welcomes the Belgian Presidency’s initiative
of organising a Forum on 13-14 July 2001 on the role of
women in economic development, and is particularly pleased
that the results of this Forum will form the basis for the future
development of a European action programme on the same
theme.

3.5.
The ESC believes that many of the weaknesses of the
Euromed partnership are due to the difficulties encountered in
successfully implementing the third component of the Barce-
lona Declaration, and mainly to overestimating the part which
the Euromed partnership could play in the social development
of the MPCs. The EU should not ignore the fact that, unlike
the MPCs,
the EU was ripe for integration through the
relative similarity of the philosophy, education and cultural
background of its Member States. The position of the MPCs is
completely different, and despite the geographical closeness of
the countries, there are considerable social, economic and
cultural differences both between individual MPCs and between
the MPCs and the EU.

Promotion of dialogue between countries which differ
3.6.
greatly in culture and in cultural background is the only
effective way of tackling tensions arising from the meeting of
different cultures and different ways of life, from globalisation
and from the temptation not to take sufficient account of the
ethnic identities of the peoples concerned.

3.7.
On the other hand, it also seems clear that so far there
has not been a sufficiently frank and serious dialogue on
problems such as human rights and particularly the rights of
terrorism, or illegal
women and children, prevention of
immigration which gives rise to special social problems, as the
Commission indeed acknowledges.

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(North-South)

the international

trade, horizontal

3.8. While the association agreements prepare the ground
for vertical
(South-South)
integration remains the EU’s greatest task of support in the
region, since increasing the horizontal flow of goods, capital
and human resources will develop markets sufficiently large to
attract
investment needed for economic
growth. Up to now, the structural changes in the MPCs have
been unsatisfactory. The ESC wishes to see a strengthening of
the role of intermediate bodies as part of the horizontal
completion of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership; at the same
time it welcomes and fully supports the recent (8 May 2001)
declaration of the intention to set up a Free Trade Zone
involving Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Morocco.

3.9.
At present the degree of representation of the inter-
mediary bodies of the MPCs is regarded as insufficient, resulting
in a failure to recognise the real needs of the locally-based
firms operating in those countries. At the same time, the lack
of organisational structure resulting from an absence of
intermediate bodies is a fact which makes practical sub-
regional cooperation an unlikely prospect. The Mediterranean
countries are already facing many difficulties in the organis-
ation of their partnership links with the European Union, and
even more so among themselves.

The ESC believes that for the above reasons, but also
3.9.1
to give the MPCs a chance to remedy this chronic deficiency
which acts as a brake on progress, specific assistance should
be provided for the MPCs to enable them to identify what is
possible or impossible at local level, determine their actual
needs and work out possible solutions.

4. The ESC’s conclusions on the prospects for the Euro-

Mediterranean partnership

4.1.
The essence of the Euro-Med partnership’s success
would be to achieve full implementation of the association
agreements. Progress with the association agreements can act
as a measuring rod for the active commitment of the 27 partner
countries to the aims laid down by the Barcelona Conference
(first, second and third key objectives).

4.1.1.
The negotiation and ratification procedure for the
agreements was more lengthy than expected, but this was due
mainly to the fact that the association agreements signed
between the EU and European countries are in practice separate
bilateral agreements between each of the fifteen Member States
of the EU and each of the MPCs.

4.1.2.
This has led to inequalities and delays in the pro-
cedures which are almost humiliating for the South: an
agreement signed by one Mediterranean country can be applied
only after about three years on average, during which time it
will be forwarded to all the European capitals for ratification.
For example, the agreement signed with Jordan in November
1997 has not yet been applied because two Member States of
the EU have not yet ratified it.

For this reason, it would be useful to consolidate the
4.1.3.
association agreements in a single multilateral agreement, as
proposed by the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Forum (1),
in order to speed up the procedures. At the same time the
possibility should be investigated of developing other ways of
reaching such agreements.

4.2.
Completing the Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Zone
is one of the key aims of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership.
Free trade should be established not only between the EU and
the MPCs, but also among the MPCs themselves. This would
enlarge the market and make the region attractive for inter-
national
(second key
objective).

investors and the inflow of capital

4.2.1.
In this spirit, the ESC believes that the markets could
to some extent be monitored in order to organise them
better vis-à-vis the European Union and promote South-South
relations in parallel. Moreover, one of the basic aims of
the Euro-Mediterranean FTZ is precisely to establish a dual
partnership link with the European Union on the one hand
and among the Mediterranean countries on the other.

4.2.2.
The ESC believes that the MPCs should be given
organisational assistance in the sectors of SMEs, craft industries
and very small firms, in order to establish common structures
among them for consultation and joint action. In this way the
MPCs will be able to develop better and wider-ranging
plans for partnership with the European Union and among
themselves, making the most of European experience and best
practice.

4.3.
The ESC believes it is necessary to defend the idea of
converting the FTZ plan into a real ‘common market’ which
would include all the goods covered by the sectors where the
South is competitive, i.e. essentially the agricultural sector.

(1) Final Declaration of the second session of the Euro-Mediterranean
Parliamentary Forum (Brussels, 8-9 February 2001), point 45.

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Such a market presupposes a very significant supporting
policy (technical and health-related specifications of products,
modernisation and reorientation of certain sectors, modernis-
ation of firms involved in the processing and marketing of
agricultural products, etc.) (second key objective).

Of special

4.4.
importance to the MPCs is the textile
manufacturing sector, which represented 30 % of their employ-
ment in 1995 (2). This sector represents one of the competitive
advantages of many of the MPCs (second key objective).

4.3.1.
Agriculture is the most important theme both for
the EU and for the MPCs, because it is the most important
economic activity in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin,
with particularly serious structural problems and a total lack
of technological knowledge, technological tools and long-term
planning; the latter would take account of the social aspect
of the restructuring. Deeper economic integration requires
extensive discussion of the 27 partners’ policies in order to
iron out the problems. An important step in this direction
was the Strasbourg Conference on agriculture in the Euro-
Mediterranean area, the aim of which was to encourage
coordination of Mediterranean agricultural policies in the
context of the Barcelona Process (1).

4.3.2.
The setting up of the FTZ in the Mediterranean area
will be seen to be successful only if the non-EU partner
countries benefit fully, i.e. obtain full and free access to the
EU market for selected agricultural products and foodstuffs
considered to be important to the Euro-Mediterranean part-
ners. Progress towards this goal could be speeded up, but only
with compensations in the CAP context for those regions of
the European Union which will be directly hit by any increased
competition.

4.3.3.
Additional sacrifices in the agricultural production
of the EU could be understandable if they would offer real
advantages for the development of the export market of the
developing countries which are Euro-Mediterranean partners.

4.3.4.
The countries in the FTZ must not be encouraged to
produce exclusively for the European market (thus serving the
interests of certain multinationals which dominate the market,
large-scale landowners and certain local rulers) but to meet
first and foremost the food needs of their own inhabitants.
This will gradually reduce food supply dependence, which
gradually leads to dependence which is not only economic but
also political and cultural.

The textile sector can have a role of the highest
4.4.1.
importance in diversifying the MPCs’ products aimed at
developed markets. The key importance of the sector is clear
from the fact that most of the MPCs are subcontractors of the
EU in textile and clothing products and particularly in semi-
finished products.

4.4.2.
Consequently, measures will need to be taken to
increase productivity and competitiveness. This requires better
organisation, an improved workforce,
in new
technologies, and finally the reorganisation and modernisation
of the industrial plant and methods in use.

investment

4.4.3
The textile sector could serve as a good example for
tackling and solving problems which are also found in the
MPCs’ other sectors.

4.5.
It will need to be emphasised that the fisheries sector
is also extremely important for the MPCs, and the EU absorbs
a very large proportion of their exports of fisheries products
(about 63 %) (second key objective).

4.5.1.
The EU fisheries sector nowadays is economically
vulnerable as a result of over-investment, rising costs and
dwindling stocks. The Commission has therefore presented a
Green Paper on the future of the Common Fisheries Policy
(CFP) (3) with a view to creating a common basis for dialogue.

4.5.2.
The ESC expresses its satisfaction that the Green
Paper envisages the inclusion of the Mediterranean in the CFP
through integrated proposals which will ensure sustainable
fisheries and will promote dialogue between those concerned
in all the countries of the Mediterranean Basin.

4.6.
On the basis of the experience gained in these five
years, the EU is in the process of revising and restructuring the
modes of implementation of its Mediterranean policy (4). The
EU must aim at achieving greater effectiveness in the MEDA

(1) Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Agriculture, Strasbourg,

14-15 June 2001.

(2) FEMISE Report on the Evolution of the Structure of Trade and
Investment between the EU and its Mediterranean Partners,
point 109.

(3) COM(2001) 135 final.
(4) COM(2000) 497 final (Communication from the Commission

‘Reinvigorating the Barcelona Process’).

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programme by streamlining its external procedures and
improving planning of its programmes and projects (first,
second and third key objectives).

be a greater effort to create a proprietorial feeling towards the
projects funded under the Euro-Mediterranean partnership
(third key objective).

The multi-faceted nature of Mediterranean policy appli-
4.7.
cation and the laborious, bureaucratic administrative pro-
cedures required, bearing in mind also the political importance
of the large funds involved, justify on the one hand requesting
a guarantee of enough staff to ensure progress with the MEDA
and on the other intensifying the consultation between the
players directly involved.

4.13.
The ESC believes that there can be no real partnership
link between the two sides unless the movement of persons is
properly organised, and the legitimate interests of both sides
are guaranteed. The failure to respond to the demand for
freedom of movement is essentially an incitement to illegal
immigration (first key objective).

4.8.
Completion of the negotiations on stability and peace
in the region, establishment of political dialogue mechanisms
to promote and safeguard peace, strengthening the role of the
MEDA democracy programme and improving support for
representatives of intermediate bodies must be primary objec-
tives, despite the fact that such interventions depend to a large
extent on the Middle East peace process. The intermediate
bodies constitute the force which can strengthen the role of
the Euro-Med partnership and influence the dialogue in its
political, economic and cultural aspects (first and second key
objectives).

5. ESC proposals on the prospects for the Euro-Med

partnership

5.1.
The ESC believes that the development of a free trade
area, both bilaterally between the EU and the MPCs, and
multilaterally among the MPCs, is not the final objective but
the means to achieve a greater aim which is nothing less than
the creation of stability, peace and welfare in the region.

4.9.
Particular emphasis must be placed on supporting
policy and security cooperation, in view of the fact that fairly
lax cooperation measures have been applied and have so far
failed to develop a strong relationship of trust between the EU
and the MPCs (first key objective).

The ESC believes that

the key to the Euro-Med
5.2.
partnership’s success is to be found in the possibility of
dynamic results. With the circulation of goods, the partners are
also circulating ‘something else’ — technological knowledge,
institutions, political principles. The signature of the associ-
ation agreements can remove a certain doubt about existing
institutions by setting up more effective ones.

4.10.
The order of priorities of the Barcelona Process must
be changed so as to give the social and cultural aspects
and immigration questions an importance which is not
qualitatively lower than that given to economic, commercial
and security questions (third key objective).

5.3.
In agreement with the ESC, there must be greater
support for the initiatives undertaken by the EU under the
second chapter of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership with a
view to making the markets of the southern and eastern
Mediterranean areas less fragmented.

4.11.
The EU must commit itself more as regards social
development, health, education, women’s and children’s rights,
environmental protection and infrastructure programmes. At
this point it is worth stressing the high importance of the
programmes for exchanges between young people and for
mobility of technical and scientific staff, with the emphasis on
the exchange of instructors (third key objective).

4.12.
The Euro-Mediterranean partnership must become
more transparent and better known in the Euro-Mediterranean
region. Efforts on information and public relations must be
intensified. As part of the communication strategy, there must

The ESC proposes that every country which ratifies
5.3.1.
an association agreement with the EU should conclude within
five years free trade agreements with all the other countries
which have also signed association agreements.

5.3.2.
The ESC proposes that suitable mechanisms be
developed to promote entrepreneurial activities, with legal and
administrative provisions to create a favourable climate for
investment and private initiative, through procedures based on
transparency and trust; it also expresses the wish that a special
place will be given to SMEs and very small enterprises in the
support provided by the Euro-Mediterranean commercial and
industrial partnership links; at the same time it believes that
strengthening the partnership can be achieved by boosting
cooperation between representatives of SMEs.

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5.3.3.
The ESC calls for the development of technical and
financial assistance programmes especially for SMEs and very
small enterprises in the Mediterranean countries, so as to
encourage diversification of the economic fabric of those
countries. Special attention should be given to craft industries
in the MPCs, as these firms form by far the greater part
of these countries’ productive fabric. The example of the
wood/furniture sector in Italy, which was split up into many
small craft firms, and which now has a prominent position on
the world market, can be used as a benchmark for the
development of craft sectors in the MPCs.

5.3.4.
The ESC perceives a need to promote information
campaigns directed at representatives of commerce and of
productive forces, e.g. Chambers of Commerce and Industry,
professional organisations, craft guilds and interested commer-
cial bodies, so as to give potential investors the necessary
support and information for long-term investments in pro-
ductive sectors in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin.

5.3.5.
The ESC recommends that the EU’s strategy for the
Mediterranean should be improved by encouraging cross-
border projects and decentralised cooperation, with the
emphasis on sustainable development. To this end it calls
upon the European Commission to:

a)

b)

include the social sector in the scope of the regional
programmes, giving particular importance to the partici-
pation of all the social partners at both national and
supranational levels;

coordinate training policies with the demands of the
labour market, creating social assistance networks and
modern cooperation methods in the welfare systems.

5.5.
The ESC welcomes the idea of creating a Euro-
Mediterranean ‘label’ whereby the various Euro-Mediterranean
programmes can be recognised, and proposes more energetic
promotion of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership with the
help of the mass media and relevant bodies in the MPCs in
diffusing the results of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership in
civil society.

5.6.
To improve the effectiveness of Euro-Mediterranean
cooperation and promote democracy and respect for human
rights in the region, it is necessary to strengthen the role of
intermediate bodies and promote the participation of civil
society in all the MEDA measures: this would prevent the state
having too much influence on the running of MEDA in
some partner countries; there are no practical consultative
procedures for the drawing up of the indicative programmes.

5.6.1.
The ESC takes the view that there needs to be a much
more active role for civil society (migrants, local communities,
enterprises, universities, associations) to ensure maximum
participation by the whole of society in the activities and
developments flowing from the Barcelona Declaration; in the
above context it believes that greater efforts must be made to
develop and support really independent intermediate bodies,
including the possibility for international NGOs to set up
branches and operate freely in all 27 countries involved in the
Barcelona Process.

5.7.
The ESC notes the need for more information and
greater social mobility in the MPCs, and the fact that those
who benefited from the MEDA programme were primarily
those who already had contact with European policies and the
operation of the EU. The great challenge for MEDA II (1) is to
cover the whole of society, so that funding is more widely
spread and extends to all social classes and groups.

In this context it proposes the promotion of decentralised
cooperation programmes and initiatives which would encour-
age exchanges among all those participating in development,
just as the Barcelona Declaration envisages in the paragraph
on cooperation in social, cultural and humanitarian matters,
so as to liberalise and invigorate the system and thereby create
a stronger dynamic for cultural development.

To ensure that the implementation of the MEDA II programme
is successful, the ESC proposes:

— ascertaining the MPCs’ needs and providing direct support
for them in the organisation and development, in cooper-
ation with organisations representing the EU, of the
necessary studies on how to facilitate take-up of the funds
allocated;

5.4.
The ESC takes the view that attention will need to be
concentrated on the social aspect of the Euro-Mediterranean
partnership by developing new programmes, and welcomes
the start of the Euromed-Human Sciences programme.

(1) Continuation of the MEDA programme (1995-1999) covering

the 2000-2006 period.

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— transfer of

technological know-how and technology,
mainly towards the private sector and non-governmental
organisations;

— transfer of best practices based on the experience already
gained by the EU from applying the MEDA programme,
but mainly from the application of the European regional
programmes;

— special attention to be devoted to the primary and

secondary sectors in the MPCs;

— drafting of manuals and guides (1) on the proper use of
funding provided by the EU and its distribution to users;

— introduction of binding deadlines for the various pro-

cedures for implementing MEDA funding;

— equal allocation of funds among the three headings of the
partnership arrangement, and a deepening of the political
dialogue under each of those headings;

5.8.1.
The ESC believes that there is an urgent need for the
new MEDA regulation to guarantee balanced, sustainable
political, economic and social development while ensuring the
participation of civil society in the framing and assessment of
programmes and projects. In this context it also emphasises
the importance of small-scale projects.

5.8.2.
The ESC thinks it necessary to increase the share of
MEDA funding earmarked for regional plans and projects with
a ‘South-South’ dimension, which will need to be defined on
the basis of dialogue with local governmental and non-
governmental bodies.

5.8.3.
The ESC believes that it will be necessary to fund,
from MEDA sources, special measures to support cooperation
in the sectors of agriculture and rural development, so as to
improve the quality of life in rural areas and reduce food
supply dependence.

— an increase in the Commission staff responsible for

managing the MEDA Programme;

5.8.4.
The ESC calls for the MEDA funding earmarked
mainly for training activities in all of the partnership sectors
to be considerably increased, and for it to benefit the whole of
society in the countries concerned.

— availability of all the results and details to the final users
(Chambers of Commerce and Industry, other bodies etc.);

— creation of an observatory to monitor developments in

the Barcelona process.

5.8.5.
A significant part of MEDA must be directed towards
promoting cooperation between countries, ethnic groups and
religious groups suffering the effects of historical conflicts and
hostilities.

5.8.
On the overall application of the MEDA II Programme,
the ESC believes that the whole approach and philosophy
behind it must take simpler forms, so as to provide the chance
of easier take-up of funds and to tackle the problems arising
from the current approach. In addition it stresses the import-
ance of decentralised cooperation (2) and proposes
its
implementation, while it welcomes the relevant decisions
the Marseilles ministerial meeting (3) on the MEDA II
of
programme.

5.8.6.
The ESC takes the view that in the context of the
new MEDA II Programme the monitoring should not be
carried out using reports but in a dynamic and flexible way, so
as to provide an immediate diagnosis of likely problems in the
use of the available funds, and so that remedial measures can
be taken. To this end it proposes that a model be developed
for self-assessment of the procedures linked with application
of the programmes. The aim of the model would be continuous
quality assessment of the results through rational management
of all the procedures.

(1) Information report of the Section for External Relations on The

innovation policies of SMEs and the craft sector.

(2) Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the Euro-
Mediterranean Partnership (OJ C 301 of 13.11.1995, p. 45).
(3) Fourth Euro-Mediterranean meeting of foreign ministers — Mar-

seilles 15-16 November 2000.

5.9.
The ESC suggests that it will be necessary to place
migratory flows at the heart of cooperation and to adopt an
immigration policy directly focused on the needs of common
development. This immigration policy must be based on:

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— a mutual commitment of North and South to joint
management of migratory flows, taking account of the
need to combat illegal immigration;

— the introduction of policies on temporary immigration
between the two sides of the Mediterranean: Germany
could serve as a model, since it is one of the few European
countries with a long tradition of organising the mobility
of migrant workers;

— the creation of a special transit visa for those responsible

for the partnership links;

— mobilising migration in the service of development of the
country of origin through policies of assistance to the
migrant programmes in that country, through student
training programmes in the context of mechanisms to
improve their access to employment in the country of
origin; arranging for European firms to take on young
skilled employees on the basis of temporary contracts;
creating a financial body to ensure better channelling of
migrant workers’ savings to the productive sectors in
their country of origin;

— development of a clearly defined policy of integration in
the host country so as to strengthen the rights of legally
established immigrants.

5.10.2
The ESC believes there will need to be a re-
examination of the strategic rapprochement with Libya; at the
same time it welcomes the initiatives taken by the Maghreb
and Mashreq countries with a view to cooperation with that
country.

5.11.
The ESC welcomes and supports the establishment
of the EuropeAid cooperation office, which is a European
Commission department following the standard operating
procedures of that institution; it was set up by a Commission
decision on 1 January 2001 in the context of reform of
external aid. The ESC feels that the working principle of this
office, namely that anything which can be managed or decided
is
directly need not be managed or decided in Brussels,
exceptionally important since it shows the Commission’s
intention to transfer basic responsibilities. It is important to
stress that the office is responsible for all stages of the measures
to realise the objectives laid down in the planning carried out
by the Directorate-General for External Relations and the
Directorate-General for Development, which have been adopt-
ed by the Commission as a whole.

The direct activities of

5.12.
the ESC should include
strengthening the existing consultative activity in the MPCs
which do not have Economic and Social Councils (ESCs), with
a more distant aim of creating such councils in those countries.

5.9.1.
It proposes the creation of a migration observatory
with the task of continuous, detailed monitoring of all the
questions relating to migratory flows in the Mediterranean
region, in cooperation with the relevant committee of the
Euro-Mediterranean Forum.

The countries involved in the MEDA II Programme
5.10.
must aim at respect for democratic principles and human and
trade union rights, particularly those of women and children,
which is the central point of cooperation with the European
Union. There must be strict monitoring of respect for these
rights, with the European Parliament being informed period-
ically about this aspect.

5.12.1.
In this context, two regional programmes which
came into operation in December 2000 are concerned with
the role of the economic and social partners and the social
their
dialogue between the Euro-Mediterranean partners;
budgets total EUR 1.3 million. The two programmes were
adopted at the 4th annual meeting of the ESCs in Lisbon
(1998). One of the two programmes is known as TRESMED,
relates to the consultative role of the economic and social
partners, and has a budget of EUR 700 000; it is a two-year
programme operating under the aegis of the Spanish ESC. The
second programme relates to the social dialogue and social
systems, runs for 18 months with a budget of EUR 600 000,
and operates under the aegis of the Italian Institute for the
Mediterranean (IMED).

5.10.1.

In the above context, the ESC proposes that:

5.12.2.
The ESC welcomes the start of these two pro-
grammes and hopes that they will operate effectively and yield
substantial results.

— programmes be developed on women’s education and
integration in university life, professions and enterprises;

— assistance be withheld from organisations, firms or other
bodies which discriminate against women in education,
social matters or sport.

5.12.3.
The ESC needs to increase its initiatives to arrange
visits by its delegations (such as those made to Israel, the
autonomous Palestinian territories, Jordan and Egypt) to all
the MPCs, on a more regular basis. The ESC welcomes the fact

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that President Prodi and Commissioners Patten and Lamy
intend to visit the Maghreb and Mashreq countries, since the
effort to give new impetus to the Barcelona Process must be
accompanied by similar initiatives to invigorate the more
general climate of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership and
instil a spirit of trust between the partners.

5.13.
The events of 11 September 2001 clearly demonstrate
the need for an immediate strengthening of the Euro-Med
partnership. In response to the newly emerging challenges, the
European Union must use the decisions made at the Barcelona
Conference as a means of calming the present atmosphere and
drawing the partner countries into greater cultural and political
proximity, both with each other and with the EU Member
States.

Brussels, 18 October 2001.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke FRERICHS