4. THE EURO-MEDITERRANEAN PROCESS

4.1. The Barcelona Declaration of the Euro-Mediterranean Conference (1995)
4.2. The Short and Medium-term Environmental Priority Action Plan for the Mediterranean (SMAP)

4.1. The Barcelona Declaration of the Euro-Mediterranean Conference (1995)

On November 27 and 28, 1995, during the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, a Euro-Mediterranean Conference was held in Barcelona with representatives of 15 member States of the EU and 12 non-member States from the South and Eastern shorelines. This conference approved the Barcelona Declaration which emphasizes the "strategic importance of the Mediterranean" and in which the 27 State their "wish to give their future relations a new dimension, based on broad cooperation and solidarity, in keeping with the privileged character of the links created by closeness and history". The signatories State they are "convinced that to reach the general objective of making the Mediterranean Basin an area of dialogue, exchange and cooperation to guarantee peace, stability, and prosperity, it is necessary to consolidate democracy and respect for human rights, achieve sustainable and balanced economic and social development, combat poverty and encourage better understanding between different cultures, all of them essential elements of collaboration". To do this "it would be useful to establish overall collaboration (Euro-Mediterranean Partnership) between the participants by means of a regular and more intense political dialogue, the development of economic and social cooperation and a greater consideration of the social, cultural and human dimension, three axes that represent the three chapters of Euro-Mediterranean collaboration.

In this Declaration the defence of the environment and the promotion of sustainable development are included timidly and without specific details. Yet "they emphasize interdependence in environmental matters, which requires a regional approach, and a more intensive cooperation, as well as greater coordination between the existing multilateral programmes, and confirm their adhesion to the Barcelona Convention and to the Mediterranean Action Plan. They recognize the importance of reconciling economic development with environmental protection, of integrating environmental problems into the relevant aspects of economic policy and to mitigate the negative consequences on the environment that may be caused by economic development. They commit themselves to decide upon a Short and Medium-term Priority Environmental Action Pogramme (SMAP), including the programmes related to combatting desertification, and to concentrate suitable financial and technical support on these actions".

The Barcelona Declaration "emphasizes the importance of the rational conservation and management of fishery resources and of the improvement of cooperation in research into fish populations, including pisciculture (...)". "They recognize the crucial role of the energy sector in Euro-Mediterranean economic collaboration and decide to strengthen cooperation and intensify dialogue". "They recognize that the supply of water, as well as its management and the suitable development of resources, constitute priority questions for all the Mediterranean partners (...)". "They agree to cooperate on modernizing and restructuring agriculture and favour integrated rural development".

To develop these policies "the European Council of Cannes has decided to dedicate financial credits to the value of 4,685 million ECU for the period 1995-1999 in the form of available community budget funds".

In terms of the role of civil society and therefore NGOs, the Barcelona Declaration affirms that "they recognize the fundamental role that can be played by civil society in the process of development of Euro-Mediterranean collaboration and also as an essential factor in creating greater understanding and closer ties between the peoples", "therefore they agree to strengthen or create the necessary instruments for decentralized cooperation to favour exchanges between development agents within the framework of national legislation, those responsible for civil society and policies, from the cultural and religious world, from the universities, from research, from the communication media, from associations, from trades unions and from private and public enterprise". "They recognize the importance of fostering contacts and exchanges between young people in the setting of decentralized cooperation programmes". They commit themselves to "foster action to support democratic institutions and the consolidation of the rule of law and civil society. They agreed to increase cooperation to reduce migratory pressures, among other methods, by contacts between members of civil society, or by any other appropriate method".

A "Euro-Mediterranean Committee of the Barcelona Process" was created with high-level officials, consisting of the EU troika and a representative of each one of the Mediterranean partners. "These different activities will be followed up with ad hoc single-subject meetings of ministers, high officials and experts, exchanges of experiences, contacts between members of civil society or any other suitable method".

All this should result in the "presentation of proposals to draw up and update a Short and Medium-term Priority Environmental Action Programme (SMAP), whose activity shall be coordinated by the European Commission and will be accompanied by long-term actions, and among the main areas of action that the programme must cover we include; integrated management of coastal waters, land and zones; waste management; prevention of atmospheric pollution and pollution of the Mediterranean, and to combat them; management and conservation of the natural heritage, landscapes and sites of interest; protection and restoration of Mediterranean forests, especially by prevention and control of erosion, soil degradation, forest fires, and by combatting desertification; transference of EU experience in the areas of financial techniques, legislation and environmental monitoring, and the integration of environmental considerations into all policies".

To carry out this policy, the MEDA programme was created, its Regulation were approved in 1996, and it obtained a budget for it to start functioning. The current structure of this programme, which dedicates 90% of its budget to bilateral policies and 10% to other policies, does not allow the clear participation by civil society, and especially not of NGOs. In the first place it only deals with the countries of the eastern and southern Mediterranean that have signed a Convention of Collaboration with the European Union, a very small minority. All the countries of the former Soviet sphere of influence are excluded from this programme, thus excluding five Mediterranean countries that are supported by the Phare Programme.

Proposals of the NGOs:

1. NGOs must participate in the entire Euro-Mediterranean Process as observers. NGOs, especially regional networks of NGOs such as MED Forum should be consulted in the preliminary phases of the preparation of proposals and must participate fully in the conferences held.

2. Greater budget provisions have to be made to foster sustainable development in order to improve the environment that people live in, and to protect natural resources, by means of existing programmes, such as MEDA, or by creating new programmes.

3. To give greater support and economic funding to the Mediterranean networks of NGOs and to the national NGOs so that they can develop cooperation projects for a sustainable society, as the best instrument to strengthen the organization of civil society in order to benefit the most disadvantaged.

4. The Mediterranean-wide networks of NGOs must be strengthened in order to favour:

- relations between citizens of all the countries

- organized solidarity through cooperation projects

- the broad diffusion of information to national NGOs

- cultural exchanges, especially between young people

- to act as interlocutors between civil society and the institutions.

4.2. The Short and Medium-term Priority Environmental Action Programme for the Mediterranean (SMAP)

During 1997, there was a debate on the SMAP (Short and Medium-term Priority Environmental Action Programme for the Mediterranean) prepared by the European Union, with the participation of member States and the coastline States. This was a commitment included in Barcelona Declaration of the Euro-Mediterranean Conference. For the first time, the participation of NGOs was accepted in the Euro-Mediterranean process so that they could make their contributions. There was a first meeting in Brussels in which the main international networks and organizations participated: MED Forum, EEB (European Enviromental Bureau), Greenpeace, WWF (World Wed Fund for Nature), FOE (Friends of the Earth) and MIO (Mediterranean Information Office).

At the Helsinki Ministerial meeting they could also participate, though in a more restricted way. 8 representatives could attend in representation of the more than 60 NGOs that participated in the process: 2 on behalf of MED Forum (EcoMEditerrània and Mouvement Écologique Algérien-MEA), and one for EEB, Ecopeace, FOE, MIO, RAED (Arab Network of NGOs for Environment and Development) and WWF. An intervention on behalf of all the NGOs was also made to the Plenary Session, which was delivered by the President of MED Forum, Professor Zohir Sekkal.

The ministerial declaration, as well as the definitely approved SMAP, included many of the contributions made by the NGOs, especially those decided by MED Forum in its IV Mediterranean Environmental Forum (1996), as well as its III Mediterranean Environmental Forum (1995), both organized by the Spanish NGO EcoMediterrània. The most important contributions by MED Forum to the SMAP have been the subjects of integrated and sustainable management of coastal zones and combatting desertification.

The coordination of the SMAP is by the European Union and is carried out by D.G. XI (Directorate General of the Environment).

Priority actions:

1. Integrated water management.

2. Waste management.

3. Hot spots.

4. Integrated management of coastal zones.

5. Combatting desertification.

Aims:

1. To change the region's continuing trend towards environmental degradation.

2. To contribute to the sustainable development of the region, the protection of the Mediterranean environment and to improve the health and living conditions of the people living there.

3. To contribute to the greatest possible integration of the environmental dimension in all other policies.

4. To increase the coherence with, and create synergy with, the other existing multilateral programmes and legislative instruments, especially the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP), the Barcelona Convention and its protocols, as well as the METAP (Mediterranean Enviromental Technical Assistance Programme, see chapter 6.7.b.) and the GEF (Global Enviromnent Facility, see chapter 6.7.a.).

5. To foster north/south, south/south and north/south/south cooperation.

6. To contribute to creating new jobs.

7. To try to ensure that, within the perspective of creating a free trade zone, measures are taken from the beginning to favour trade and the environment, and that these policies should reinforce each other, in respect for environmental commitments.

 

Financial mechanisms have been fixed to fulfil these aims relating to the fixed priority actions, which are based on existing EU mechanisms, especially the MEDA instrument. These mechanisms were considered to be totally insufficient by the NGOs at their meeting at Montpellier, and in Helsinki.

The conference eventually established the SMAP with positive contents that satisfied most of the proposals made by MED Forum and other NGOs, but left a double feeling of hope and diffidence, as the financial mechanisms were fixed at inadequate levels, and especially because the requests made by the NGOs in the subject of funding were not taken into account. A mechanism for re-examination after 2 years was established and "consultation mechanisms will be established that will allow the representative organizations of civil society (including the NGOs) to contribute to putting the SMAP into operation, assess the results and, if necessary, modify the taking of decisions".

Proposals of the NGOs:

1. The MEDA Programme should budget at least 400 M ECU for the fulfilment of the SMAP over the next five years, as well as "to ensure that the environment is a major component of the bilateral agreements reached in the MEDA framework and that the necessary funding - a minium of 10% - should be included in the national programmes". It also requests "the European Commission to create a MEDA-NGO Fund, endowed with at least 20 M ECU".

2. The NGO networks, as well as the member NGOs, will be able to present cooperation projects directly within the SMAP framework, without needing authorization in advance from their own country, but simply by informing the corresponding body and in accordance with the legal regulations and respect for human rights.

 

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