The Union for the Mediterranean. Evolution and Prospects

The author examines problems related with the political identity of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), its relations with the EMP's Euro-Mediterranean "acquis" and the functioning of its institutions. While the UfM has been designed to give new momentum to the EU's cooperation with Mediterranean countries, results have hardly met ambitions so far. There is a lot the EU can do to increase the UfM profile: revise its institutional settings; create a parallel, but connected, multilateral dimension in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy; quickly implement large-scale regional projects; expand cooperation to agriculture; and scale back the ambition that the UfM can promote political solidarity in the short- to medium-term.

Speech presented at the round table meeting "The Adriatic-Ionian Area and the Union for the Mediterranean" held in Teramo on the 5 December 2009 as part of the international conference "The Role of Universities and Research towards Integration in the Adriatic-Ionian and Mediterranean Regions". Subsequent version: The State of Play of the Union for the Mediterranean in the Euro-Med Context, Roma, IAI, September 2010 (Documenti IAI 1017).