Middle East Review of International Affairs

Volume 9, Number 2, June 2005

 

The Barcelona Process and Euro-Arab Economic Relations, 1995-2005
by Rory Miller and Ashraf Mishrif ^*

 

Abstract

Since its establishment in the late 1950s, the European Economic Community has always viewed the development of trade and economic ties as a vital instrument in its efforts to improve bilateral relations with the Arab world. The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (also known as the Barcelona Process), initiated at the November 1995 Barcelona Conference, is the most recent example. This article examines how in its first decade, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership has contributed both to the economic development of the Arab world and bilateral European Union-Arab relations. It concludes by placing the very real achievements in the context of significant obstacles that still remain.

Full Text (PDF, 15 pages, 73.9 KB)

Note *: Dr. Rory Miller is Senior Lecturer in Mediterranean Studies at King's College, University of London, and associate editor of Israel Affairs. Mr. Ashraf Mishrif is a consultant on cultural affairs at the Egyptian Embassy in London, managing director of London-based consultancy and trading company, EU-Med International, and a researcher at King's College, London.