Paris summit inaugurates 'Mediterranean Union'[fr][de] 

The Union was officially launched at a ceremony held at the Grand Palais in Paris on Sunday, raising prospects of increased unity in a region marked by conflict and wealth disparities between North and South.

The partnership, France hopes, will provide new impetus to regional cooperation by agreeing a set of priority development projects "that create de facto solidarity" between participating nations.

Expectations are also high that the structure of the Med Union, based on a shared presidency between north and south, will "increase co-ownership" in the process and give it more political authority via regular summits, to be held every two years.

However, the summit evaded contentious issues such as how to finance the projects - for which billions of euros are still to be found - or where to locate the Union's new permanent secretariat, leaving these issues for a November meeting of foreign affairs ministers.

Diplomatic success and peace prospects 

Still, the summit was a diplomatic success for France, which managed to gather Israeli, Syrian and Palestinian leaders at the same meeting in a rare show of unity.

Sarkozy, who co-chaired the meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, praised Arab nations for attending the summit, saying they made a "gesture of peace".

"We are certain that a new page will open in this cooperation that will lead us toward more peace," Mubarak said, according to AFP. Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister added: "We are closer than ever to a possible (peace) agreement today." 

The joint declaration adopted at the Paris Summit says participating nations shall pursue "a mutually and effectively verifiable Middle East Zone free of weapons of mass destruction," including nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their delivery systems.

France also recorded a diplomatic success on the sidelines of the summit, hosting talks between leaders from Syria and Lebanon who agreed for the first time to open embassies in their respective countries since they gained independence from France sixty years ago.

Med Union ‘independent’ from Turkey EU bid

Meanwhile, France used the summit to ease its relations with Turkey, which had been clouded by Sarkozy’s repeated attacks against the country’s EU aspirations. 

During a brief meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the French President said he will not block progress in Turkey’s EU accession negotiations, which were officially opened in 2005.

The summit’s final declaration allayed Turkey’s concerns by stating clearly that the Union for the Mediterranean "will be independent from the EU enlargement policy, accession negotiations and the pre-accession process".

Six priority projects

In the meantime, the summit confirmed six main areas for the launch of the Union's priority projects. These include the "de-pollution" of the Mediterranean Sea, land and sea motorways, a civil protection network, a plan to boost the use of solar energy in southern countries, a Euromed University and a programme to encourage the development of small and medium-sized businesses.

Water access and management projects could be added in the coming years, to provide drinking water, irrigation or treatment for industrial wastewater.

The funding and implementation of projects will be pursued on a case by case basis and agreed at a later stage.

A difficult birth

The Union's birth has not been easy, however. Sarkozy's original plans drew heavy criticism, especially from Germany, because he had originally envisioned the new Union as an exclusive club, involving Mediterranean countries but not the EU as a whole.

Under German pressure, the French President was forced to back down and agree to allow the 27 EU member states to participate in this initiative.

He also agreed to change the original title of 'Mediterranean Union' to 'Barcelona Process: Union of the Mediterranean' in order to counter fears that the new body would become a rival to the EU's existing Barcelona Process. 

Germany also prevailed by holding to its position that no new EU money beyond the funds allocated for the Barcelona Process should be given to the new union, countering Franco-Italian demands that the financing for the new body be multiplied.

José Manuel Barroso, the president of the European Commission, hailed Sakozy's "strength of persuasion", which allowed the summit to "give a new political impetus" to the Euro-Mediterranean partnership.