{
  "id": "RL31017",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL31017",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 100439,
      "date": "2001-06-12",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:23:36.184941",
      "title": "The Barcelona Process: The European Union's Partnership with the Southern Mediterranean",
      "summary": "The European Union (EU) has identified the Mediterranean (MED) region as a key external\nrelations\npriority. EU policy towards the region is governed by the comprehensive Euro-Mediterranean\nPartnership Initiative, launched at the 1995 Barcelona Conference between the EU and the 12\nMediterranean partners. The Barcelona Process entails a new, broader and more far-reaching agenda\nof cooperation with the non-EU Mediterranean countries, including the creation of a Euro-MED free\ntrade area to be established by 2010. \n The Barcelona Agreement contains three chapters of cooperation: the political and security\nchapter; the economic and financial chapter; and the social, cultural and human chapter. Many view\nthe economic element of the agreement as the most important one. The core of economic cooperation\nis the establishment of a region-wide free trade area which will serve to enhance economic\ndevelopment by expanding bilateral support and trade.\n The Barcelona process is complementary to, but separate from the Middle East peace process\nand as such, has managed to serve as a forum for the participating countries, despite the ups and\ndowns in regional relations. Since the outbreak of the al-Aqsa Intifadah in September 2000, and the\nbreakdown of Israeli-Syrian talks earlier in the year, the Barcelona process is facing serious\nchallenges and some Arab countries chose to boycott the November 2000 Euro-Mediterranean\nSummit in Marseilles, refusing to participate in a cooperative forum including Israel. The process\nnevertheless remains the only multilateral forum outside the United Nations where all the parties to\nthe conflict meet.\n Important benefits have been predicted for many of the Mediterranean cooperation partners. The\npartnership is intended, for instance, to encourage foreign investment and in the long run promote\nincome convergence as well as political stability and security. However, some analysts fear the\npotentially negative effects of opening up to European exports on weaker and less competitive MED\nindustries, and the effects of the loss of government revenue which could result from significant\nreductions in tariffs.\n Moreover, some fear that economic liberalization tends to increase pressure on the physical\nenvironment, as trade and investment expand. In order to avoid important adverse effects on the\nenvironment, some advocate a supporting institutional framework in order to take advantage of the\nopportunities for improvement, while also dealing with potential threats to the environment.\n This report also provides a brief discussion of how the Barcelona Process relates to the Middle\nEast peace process, as well as to other U.S. interests. For further information on related issues, see\nCRS Issue Brief IB91137,  The Middle East Peace Talks , by Carol Migdalovitz, updated\nregularly,\nand CRS Report RL30311,  Middle East: the Multilateral Peace Talks , by Joshua\nRuebner, updated\nAugust 17, 2000.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31017",
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Agricultural Policy",
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Middle Eastern Affairs"
  ]
}