La Unión por el Mediterráneo: al final, una etapa más en el proceso de Barcelona

Abstract

In the past French electoral campaign, candidate Nicolas Sarkozy announced in Toulon his intention to create a Mediterranean Union. Spain praised Sarkozy’s interest in the Mediterranean since the beginning, but was also cautious about the initial lack of contents. Spain and France agree on the geostrategic importance of the Mediterranean region. However, the Spanish idea linked the EU with the countries in the Southern and Eastern rim. Sarkozy seemed to seek a new organization exclusively composed by riparian states, and not by the rest of EU members. There also was an important “Euromed acquis”, which should not be ignored nor despised. Spain has used its leadership role in the Barcelona Process to —preserving the positive aspects of Sarkozy’s idea— try to redirect the initiative towards common positions with the other European countries.