Euromediterranean Summit 2005

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The 10th anniversary Euromediterranean summit was held in Barcelona on November 27-28 2005. Full members of the Barcelona Process are:

25 Member States of the European Union.
10 countries from the southern Mediterranean shore: Algeria, Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, and Turkey (already part of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the latter began EU accession talks on 3rd October).
Romania and Bulgaria, that are candidates to join the European Union, which have already signed an Accession Agreement.
Croatia, a candidate to join the EU, which began accession talks on 3rd October.
The European Parliament, the European Commission, and the Secretariat-General of the Council of the EU

Moreover, the Barcelona Process includes 6 countries and institutions participating as permanent observers (Libya, Mauritania, the Secretary-General of the Arab League) and invited observers, such as the European Investment Bank, the Arab Maghreb Union, the Anna Lindh Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures, the Economical and Social Committee or the Euromed Economical and Social Councils.

According to the ISN, "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were the only leaders from the Mediterranean countries to attend, while those of Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt were not present."[1]

[edit] Agenda

From the official web site, "The new realities and challenges of the 21st century make it necessary to update the Barcelona Declaration and create a new Action Plan (based on the good results of the Valencia Action Plan), encompassing four fundamental areas":

Peace, Security, Stability, Good Government, and Democracy.
Sustainable Economic Development and Reform.
Education and Cultural Exchange
Justice, Security, Migration, and Social Integration.

[edit] Achievements

The final Chairman's Statement was essentially a reiteration of the agenda. [2]

In the much anticipated Euro-Mediterranean Code of Conduct on Countering Terrorism[3], summit members "reiterate our total condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and our determination to eradicate it and to combat its sponsors." Sadly, however, the summit failed to agree on a definition of Terrorism. ISN writer Hannah Strange reports:

Muslim countries, with one eye trained on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, pushed for language that would allow those living “under foreign occupation” to legally resort to force to gain freedom. But EU countries and Israel argued that terrorism could never be justified by any cause. The row was partially resolved by removing a contentious section addressing the right to self-determination and stating that “terrorist attacks cannot be justified or legitimized by any cause or grievance”. But the dispute left leaders unable to agree a final declaration, instead producing a non-binding chairman’s statement.[4]