Barcelona process in Jeopardy, Arab League chief warns
Regional-European Union, Politics, 8/13/2002

The Barcelona process of Euro-Mediterranean integration is currently jeopardized, Amr Moussa, Secretary-general of the Arab League, warned on Sunday.

Moussa, who was addressing a meeting on Arab-European Cooperation in Asilah, northern Morocco, said the results of the Mediterranean process are so far short of the ambitions of the European and Arab states bordering the Mediterranean Sea.

The chief of the Arab League noted that the Agadir Declaration, whereby Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan and Egypt agreed to set up a free trade area open onto other Arab nations, is a promising initiative.

The initiative, launched by King Mohammed VI, is a materialization of the efforts made to reinforce inter-Arab cooperation, on the one hand, and the Euro-Arab one on the other, said Moussa.

Touching on the dangers looming on Euro-Arab cooperation, Moussa cited the growing interest the European Union shows in Eastern Europe at the expense of Arab states. He noted, in this connection, that the explosive situation in the Balkans and in the former Soviet Union republics might harm the aspiration to enlarge the European Union.

Previous Stories:
  Moussa receives EU Security Chief   (6/1/2002)
  Moussa embarks on European tour   (6/1/2002)
  Mediterranean dialogue forum in Libya   (5/31/2002)

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