is our hope and intention that the seminar will not remain an isolated event. the bank of italy, in close accord with the eurosystem, is willing to offer the necessary support for the creation of an institutional framework for the start of a long - lasting collaboration. meetings like the present one can be held periodically on specific topics of interest to the central banks. in classical antiquity the mediterranean did not constitute a barrier between the populations living on its shores. rather, it was a basin of communication for intense trade in commodities and goods, for cultural exchange, for often peaceful, sometimes belligerent relations. in the words of fernand braudel, “ the mediterranean is the world ’ s most ancient crossroads. for thousands of years everything has converged here, mixing, enriching its history : men, beasts of burden, machines, goods, ideas, religions, ways of life ”. this ancient unity, the greek koine and the roman empire, were followed by centuries of troubles and division. the unity that wars had shattered was laboriously but admirably restored in the middle ages at the cultural level, with the contribution of great arab and jewish philosophers, with the recovery of ancient learning, with the synthesis of scholasticism. today, however, we come from a long period, many centuries, of division, conflict, and war between the peoples of the mediterranean, of profound upheaval in europe as well. in the last fifty years, after the second world war, our continent has taken a great stride forward in its history ; fifteen peoples who at times had fought each other fiercely over the centuries have decided to unite in taking a path of economic and civil advancement. these peoples will shortly become twenty - five. today, we are taking the first small but sure steps towards building a new unity of intent in the quest for shared progress around the mediterranean, sustained by the values and cultures of the peoples of africa, the near east and europe and the desire to exchange goods and experiences. peace and trade will necessarily bring prosperity. the importance of the financial dimension for economic development must emerge clearly from today ’ s seminar. let us proceed with humility, but also with commitment, in the search for a common language and shared objectives. this invitation is addressed to those participating in the seminar, but also to the wider financial, economic and civic community which, responding to our call, has welcomed us to this ancient but also modern and beautiful city of naples.

antonio fazio : welcome address for the euro - mediterranean seminar welcoming address by mr antonio fazio, governor of the bank of italy, at the euro - mediterranean seminar, eurosystem and mediterranean country national central banks, organised by the bank of italy and the european central bank, naples, 14 - 15 january 2004. * * * the twelve mediterranean countries of africa, the middle east and europe represented here by the governors of their respective central banks are members of the euro - mediterranean partnership. they are morocco, algeria, tunisia, egypt, israel, the palestinian national authority, jordan, lebanon, syria, turkey, malta and cyprus. they are joined by libya in the capacity of observer. the partnership between the european union and the mediterranean countries began in 1995 with the barcelona conference ; it should lead, in 2010, to the creation of an area of free trade in goods and services. the signatories to the agreement have undertaken, in particular, to allow the reciprocal establishment of enterprises and to promote flows of direct investment in the less advanced economies. the commitments entered into at barcelona have been followed by bilateral association agreements between the european union and nearly all the mediterranean countries, including measures to liberalize trade in manufactures as agreed during the uruguay round. the gross domestic product of these mediterranean countries is equal to 10 per cent of that of the euro area. they have a population of 250 million people, which is growing at an annual rate of 1. 8 per cent ; young people below 15 years of age are 33 per cent of the total. the european union has a population of 380 million ; the proportion of young people under 15 is only 17 per cent. the proportion of over - 65 year - olds is 16 per cent and is destined to rise substantially in the decades to come. the present birth rate is extremely low, only slightly higher than the death rate. according to un estimates, by 2015 europe ’ s population will have grown by 5 million, that of the mediterranean countries by 60 million. the per capita gdp of the twelve countries is showing a tendency to rise, albeit slowly ; it still averages only 11 per cent of the figure for europe. some years ago the bank of italy began a study of the economies of north africa and the near east. the geographical proximity and already significant commercial ties with these countries, the migratory movements, and the prospect of financial integration prompted us, within the eurosystem, to undertake a more systematic analysis of the scope for their development, which is of great importance