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Posted on: 5/10/2007

Issue 38 – May, 2007

A Mediterranean-Black Sea Union

Rene Wadlow

Nicolas Sarkozy, the newly elected President of France, in his
election night speech in which he stressed his aims repeated his
opposition to the entry of Turkey into the European Union. He
suggested that Turkey play a key role in creating a Mediterranean
Union. The proposal can be considered as a somewhat elegant way of
closing the door on the current, very slow, negotiations between the
executive body of the European Union – the European Commission – and
Turkish representatives.

There is among some European Union members a reluctance to add more
states after the entry of the Central European countries. The states
of former Yugoslavia are waiting to join – their joining is considered
necessary for political stability rather than for economic reasons The
idea of Turkey joining the European Union creates fears among some
European Union political leaders as well as in the broader population.
Turkey is large, populated, relatively poor, rural, with a majority of
Muslims. Each characteristic is considered a handicap by some,
although the religious element is mentioned in code words rather than
directly Sarkozy’s proposal for a Mediterranean Union can be
considered as a consolation prize to the Turks and a nod of
recognition to the chauvinists, xenophobic and racists who voted for
him. However, in his speech he stressed that France would play a role
in the creation of a Mediterranean Union. Thus the idea merits
looking at in greater depth.

Today, we see the growing cooperation among States and peoples of the
Mediterranean and Black Sea regions. There has been increasing
discussion of a Conference on Security and Co-operation in the
Mediterranean drawing inspiration from the spirit, procedures and
principles of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe. Such a Conference on Security and Co-operation in the
Mediterranean would be global in its composition to include all
countries with influence and interests in the Mediterranean and Black
Sea regions.

Such a conference would be comprehensive in its mandate in order to
integrate all the relevant problems into an interdependent whole.

While it is true that at the level of governments, progress on such a
Mediterranean union has been slow and uneven, there is a wide
recognition of the need to deal in a cooperative way with the problems
of human security on a Mediterranean and Black Sea regional basis.
Common problems of poverty, social tensions and environmental
degradation call for common strategies.

Enlightened leadership, understanding these common interests of all
the peoples of the Mediterranean and Black Sea area is required as
well as a multitude of cooperative initiatives among th peoples of the
area. Work on common tasks will deepen the cultural foundations upon
which Mediterranean and Black Sea integration will be built.

The proposals concerning a Mediterranean-Black Sea Union require
serious study. These are areas which now have little formal
cooperation but which represent important natural, multicultural
areas. Cooperation can be developed using important cultural and
historic foundations. We will see how Sarkozy’s proposals are met and
if he will help provide the leadership needed.

Rene Wadlow is the Editor of
and the Representative to the United Nations, Geneva, of the
Association of World Citizens.

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