A. G. GADZHIEV

Postgraduate Institute of Oriental studies RAS

After the collapse of the bipolar structure of international relations, the developed centers of the world economy give priority to deepening integration ties as the most effective and reliable way to support efforts related to strengthening stability and development in states located on their periphery. The gradual expansion of the world's leading integration groupings has become a dynamically growing and stable trend.

An integral part of this integration process is the development of relations between the European Union (EU) and the countries of the Mediterranean region. The first cooperation agreements between the European Community and individual countries of the region were concluded in the mid-70s of the last century. In the 90s. contacts and links between them have intensified through Euro-Mediterranean co-operation1.

The integration process between the EU and the Mediterranean countries is stimulated by an awareness of the benefits of deepening the international division of labor and cooperation in the political and humanitarian fields. Non-European countries in the region expect to attract foreign capital and modern technologies. At the current stage, this is possible, in particular, within the framework of deepening the integration process with the EU, which considers the southern part of the Mediterranean as one of the priorities of its integration policy.²

The EU's efforts in relation to the countries of the Mediterranean region are aimed not only at stimulating economic, political and socio-cultural partnerships, but also at supporting the formation of a market economy, political democracy and civil society, as well as at resolving conflict situations in the region.

Turkey's policy in the Mediterranean region has a significant impact on the development of relations between this country and the EU. During almost the entire period of Ankara's unsuccessful struggle for full EU membership, Turkey, while remaining an associate member, has played an important role in establishing partnerships with some European states and EU institutions.

A number of EU experts are convinced that due to its economic, military-political and geostrategic features, Turkey is able to play a key role in shaping the Mediterranean direction within the Euro-Mediterranean region in line with the mutual harmonization of the interests of all interested countries without exception.³

FROM THE BARCELONA PROCESS TO THE UNION FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN

In the process of integration of the Mediterranean region, the countries of the Southern Mediterranean are guided not so much by political interests as by economic ones. They seek in the short term to obtain economic assistance, loans through EU channels, access to the latest technologies, labor markets, etc., but mainly to remove barriers to the export of their goods to the markets of EU member states.

The emphasis on the trade and economic component of relations is connected with the cautious attitude of the Arab countries of the region to the EU's political initiatives in the southern direction.

First of all, this concerns problems related to the democratization of political systems, the creation of supranational bodies or joining them. It is known that in these countries over a long period of time, a relatively stable economy has been formed.

a stable political system with deep historical roots - a regime of authoritarian rule with a limited range of elements of political democracy.⁴

Until the 1990s, the European Union's integration policy towards the Southern Mediterranean was based on developing cooperation on a bilateral basis. However, in the 1990s, more and more emphasis was placed on promoting multi-stakeholder partnerships5. The updated concept of EU integration policy, which more closely links the economic, political and social aspects of cooperation, as well as an increasing emphasis on its multilateral forms, assumed an adequate response from the States of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. ⁶

Since the Lisbon session of the European Council in 1992, the EU Commission has been more active in the south, focusing on key issues such as arms supplies to the Middle East, nuclear non-proliferation, deepening the democratic process and respect for human rights. ⁷

The development of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation was accelerated by the NATO initiative to establish a "Mediterranean Dialogue"launched in December 1994⁸.In addition to the North Atlantic Alliance member countries, Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia participated in the project.

At the EU summit in Cannes in June 1995, it was decided to establish partnership relations with the Mediterranean countries. Already in November of the same year, the first Euro-Mediterranean Conference at the level of Foreign Ministers was held in Barcelona as part of the new approach of the EU and the Mediterranean countries to development and deeper integration. The Barcelona Conference launched a process ^of inter-State cooperation called the Barcelona Process9.

The declaration adopted at the end of the meeting stated that the main goal of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (ESP) was to "create a common zone of peace, prosperity and stability". To achieve this goal, it was decided to focus on three main tasks:: strengthening peace and stability, economic development and cultural rapprochement. The main focus was on creating a free trade zone in the region10 by ²⁰¹⁰.

In November 1996, the second ESP conference was held, which was attended by the EU countries and 12 States of the Southern Mediterranean basin. It was devoted to security issues, solving the problem of public debt of the countries of the region, creating a free trade zone, regulating migration flows, and using energy resources in the Mediterranean region11.

In March 2003, the European Commission published a report on the new EU policy "An Enlarged Europe - a New Neighbourhood". Building on the achievements and experience of the Barcelona process, the new policy was aimed at creating greater dynamism in relations between EU member States and their immediate neighbors in the East and South of Europe.

The relationship between the European Union and its neighbors has gradually become closer. It is particularly important to learn about the benefits of the common internal market, which is based on the free movement of people, goods, services and capital. Thus, only economic integration is carried out without participation in the political process and financing.

10 years after the start of the Barcelona process, in November 2005, all the EU partner countries gathered in The Hague and summed up its results. During the meeting, it was noted that the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership has made significant progress towards cooperation using such effective tools as the Anna Lind Foundation for Intercultural Dialogue, the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, the Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership Assistance Fund (FEMIP), and the Euro-Mediterranean Development Assistance Program (MEDA), etc. ¹²

BARCELONA PROCESS: A UNION FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN

The next stage in the development of the Barcelona process was the initiative of French President Nicolas Sarkozy to create a Union of Mediterranean States, which he first put forward as a" civilizational project " on May 31, 2007.

The main tasks of the Mediterranean Union were to develop a coordinated immigration policy, develop the economy and trade, and promote the fundamental values of the rule of law,

environmental protection. According to Sarkozy, the creation of such a union would contribute to the expansion of cooperation between the countries of the Mediterranean basin and the EU, and over time both associations could create common institutions. In addition, the union would be an alternative to Turkey's accession to the EU, a country whose membership in the EU, in his opinion, is impossible.¹³

Some Turkish political scientists believe that the very idea of creating such an alternative belongs to the current head of the Roman Catholic Church, Benedict XVI. Even before assuming this position, as dean of the College of Cardinals of the Holy See and head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger declared in 2004 that the future of Turkey should not be in the EU, but in the political unification of Muslim countries. Given its characteristics, the country can become a "leading regional figure" by strengthening cultural ties with its Arab neighbors. According to O. Dede, a leading political commentator of the Yeni Mesaj newspaper, Turkey, becoming a member of a possible union of Mediterranean states, will gain more importance, but it will not be able to avoid the fate of the executor of the political will of France.¹⁴

Sarkozy's initiative has led to a sharp deterioration in relations between Turkey and France. At the meeting of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Nicolas Sarkozy in September 2007 during the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly in New York, controversial issues in relations between the two countries were discussed. Special attention was paid to the negotiation process between Turkey and the ^EU15.

In October 2007, the French President invited all the leaders of the Mediterranean region to a summit in Paris planned for the summer of 2008 during the French presidency of the European Union. Paris sought to take key positions in the European dialogue with the non-EU Mediterranean region and gain direct EU access to the gas fields of North Africa. A gas pipeline that could deliver African natural gas to Europe in the future is under active construction*.

The idea of the French president was met with criticism by a number of EU countries, including the most significant participant - Germany. As a result of lengthy negotiations with Paris, Berlin decided to support the project of the Mediterranean Union, provided that all EU member states, including those that do not have access to the Mediterranean Sea, participate in it. The French President's initiative was approved in a significantly modified form at the EU summit held in Brussels in March 2008. During the summit, it was decided that all EU countries will participate in the work of the new association.

The Mediterranean Union project is not a separate integration grouping, but is only a complement and natural development of the Barcelona process.

The first summit of the renewed Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, officially called the Barcelona Process: A Union for the Mediterranean, was held in Paris on 13 July 2008. It was attended by the Heads of State and Government of EU member States, EU candidate countries and the EU's Mediterranean partner countries. The creation of the Union for the Mediterranean (UDF) was presented as a "natural continuation of the Barcelona process".

Ankara has taken a firm and unambiguous position towards the Mediterranean Union. It categorically refused to support the project if it was recognized as an alternative to Turkey's full integration into the EU. Only after receiving assurances that its participation in the project would not be an alternative to the EU accession negotiation process, did the Turkish side agree to attend the Paris summit. And after Sarkozy personally called Recep Tayyip Erdogan and invited him to the summit, the Turkish prime minister led his country's delegation.¹⁶

As explained by the press secretary of the Turkish Foreign Ministry B. Ozyugergin, Ankara agreed to participate in the VTS only after the representatives of France, Italy and Spain adopted a declaration in Rome in December 2007, which emphasized that the project of the Mediterranean Union would not hinder the negotiation process on Turkey's accession to the EU, and the "road map of the European Commission" was published, which noted the inviolability of this process ¹⁷.

However, despite its active participation in the preparations for the Paris Summit as a member State of the Barcelona process, Ankara continued to be wary of Sarkozy's initiative. This behavior of the Turkish government was also influenced by the draft law on holding a referendum on Turkey's admission to the EU,

* For more information, see: Kukushkin V. Yu. Afrikaniy gaz - eto serebrezno [African gas is serious] / / Asia and Africa Today, 2009, No. 6.

it was then under consideration in the French Parliament.

Ankara insisted that all documents and final declarations to be adopted within the framework of the Union for the Mediterranean project state that Turkey is continuing negotiations on joining the EU. The position of the Turkish side was supported by the United Kingdom, which is a strategic partner of Turkey and supports its desire to become a member of ^the EU18. In addition, the Turkish Government supported consensus-based decisions and rejected any other options for decision-making procedures.¹⁹

In the context of the global financial and economic crisis, some EU member states and Turkey have increased their criticism of the expanded format of the Barcelona process, which implies additional material costs. From the very beginning, VTS funding issues have created a heated debate among EU member states.²⁰ These countries have previously provided substantial financial support to the Southern Mediterranean States, in line with their Barcelona commitments. Due to the fact that not all EU countries are interested in the implementation of the Euro-Mediterranean project, the issues of its financing have begun to create additional difficulties.

In recent years, one can increasingly hear a skeptical assessment of the prospects for the development of Euro-Mediterranean relations.

Chagra Erhan, Director of the Institute for the Study of European Communities at Ankara (State) University, believes that the future of the SDS initiative is doomed to failure, as it was with the Barcelona process. The reason for this will be discontent both on the part of the northern EU member states that do not have access to the Mediterranean Sea, and on the part of the countries of North Africa ²¹.

* * *

Nevertheless, despite the skepticism of observers and experts, the Barcelona Process: A Union for the Mediterranean has a potentially significant geo-economic and geopolitical significance. A so-called large space is being created, where various strategic problems can be solved. It is not surprising that the countries of the region face a number of difficulties on the way to such large-scale cooperation. These include the confrontation between some of the EU member States, the disparity in the economic development of the North and South of the Mediterranean, the infringement of the economic interests of North African countries, and so on.

According to Ankara, the creation of such a confederation as an alternative to Turkish participation in the EU is ultimately fraught with the failure of the negotiation process between Turkey and the European Union.

After the visit of the US President B. Obama's more flexible policy towards Turkey and the Muslim world as a whole, compared to his predecessor Bush, coupled with the American president's call to speed up Turkey's admission to the European Union and Sarkozy's public refusal to follow this call, significantly complicates the implementation of the Paris initiative on the SDF.

^{Ulugkay E., Erdogan A.} 1 Adnin Akdeniz Politikasi. Ankara, 2002, s. 121.

^{Ashof G.} 2 The Mediterranean policy of the EC // Intereconomics, 3/1983, p. 11 - 19.

^{Balkir C., Williams A. M.} 3 Turkiye ve Avrupa Iliskileri, cev. Tanatar B., Istanbul, 1996, s. 65.

^{Roca D. B.} 4 Avrupa Birliginin Akdeniz Bolgesi Politikasi. Istanbul, 1996, s. 23.

^{Altunay K.} 5 Avrupa Birliginin Akdeniz Politikasi ve Kibris. Istanbul, 1995, s. 7.

^{Dogan O.} 6 1763/92AET ve 1762/92/AET sayili tuzukler cercevesinde yenilestirilmis Akdeniz Politikasi. Ankara, 1994, s. 32.

^{Bensidoun I., Chevallier A.} 7 Avrupa Birligi - Akdeniz Bolgesi Iliskileri ve Serbest Ticaret Alani Olusumu, cev. Unal T. Istanbul, 1997, s. 72.

⁸ Avrupa - Akdeniz Gelecegi, Iktisadi Kalkinma Vakfi Bulteni, 15 - 30 Haziran 1995, s. 1.

⁹ The EU's Mediterranean Crusade // The Economist, 337 (7943), 2 - 8 December 1995, p. 27.

¹⁰ Avrupa - Akdeniz Ortakligi, Guncel Avrupa Dergisi, (6), Haziran-Temmuz, 1996, s. 7.

^{Koni H.} 11 The Security of the Eastern Mediterranean and Turkey // Insight Turkey, 1 (3) July-September, 1999, p. 23 - 27.

¹² http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/0103-MORIN-Ru-2.pdf

¹³ http://lenta.ru/news/2007/05/31/sarkozy/

¹⁴ Yeni Mesaj, 15.07.2008.

¹⁵ Zaman, 26.09.2007.

¹⁶ Yeni Asya, 15.07.2008.

¹⁷ http://www.mfa.gov.tr/disisleri-bakan-ligi-sozcusu-burak-ozugergin_in-haftalik-olagan-b asin-toplantisi_-26_06_2008.tr.mfa

¹⁸ Zaman, 12.07.2008.

¹⁹ Aksam, 13.07.2008.

²⁰ See: Mokhova I. M. French Initiative of the Mediterranean Union // Middle East Institute - www.iimes.ru/rus/stat/2008/27 - 08 - 08b.htm

²¹ Yeni Asya, 10.07.2008.

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