The European union and North Africa: Keeping the Mediterranean ‘safe’ for Europe

1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 21-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Romeo
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
North Africa ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Mediterranean

The European Union in the Mediterranean Sea: Navigating the Political-Legal Shallows

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 271-298
Author(s):  
Stephan F.H. Ollick
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Regime Complex ◽  
International Migrants ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Eu

The Mediterranean Sea has long been an important and perilous route for international migrants from the coast of North Africa to the European Union (EU). Manygrants and refugees travelling on overcrowded and unseaworthy dinghies do not survive the crossing. Rising numbers of fatalities put pressure on the EU to address the Mediterranean tragedy with renewed urgency. Frontex Operation Triton (2014–) and the naval mission eunavfor med Operation SOPHIA (2015–) were launched to survey and influence migratory flows. Although thousands of migrants and refugees have thus been delivered from distress at sea, casualty rates remain staggeringly high. Some commentators and organizations have dismissed Frontex and eunavfor med Operation SOPHIA as vehicles of an isolationist political agenda. This overlooks the narrow legal, political and practical confines within which these initiatives operate. Frontex and eunavfor med Operation SOPHIA seek to attain a level of control necessary for the delayed implementation of more ambitious and forward-looking schemes. The unsophisticated, temporary nature of the regime complex currently governing the EU’s activities in the Mediterranean Sea manifests in ambiguous language, in frequent and disparate amendments, and in the brevity of the mandates thus dispensed.

scholarly journals Conceptualizing Relations Between Europe and the Mediterranean Middle East

2021 ◽  
pp. 10-35
Author(s):  
Raffaella A. Del Sarto
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Mediterranean

This chapter presents the conceptual framework of this study. It delves into the meaning and implications of adopting a borderlands approach to the study of the complex relationship between Europe and the Mediterranean Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Europe’s ‘southern neighbourhood’. Anchored in the conceptualization of the European Union and its member states as an empire of sorts, this approach highlights the extension of European rules and practices to Europe’s southern periphery and the dislocation of Europe’s borders, showing how interconnected the two regions have become as a result. The usefulness of this conceptual framework is also discussed in the context of various flaws and gaps in the existing literature.

scholarly journals Evolution of European Union’s policy towards the Mediterranean region

2012 ◽  
pp. 5-10
Author(s):  
Anna Diawol
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Specific Problem ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Union For The Mediterranean

This paper examines some specific problem in Euro Mediterranean relation. Author decided to concentrate on two main issues: the characteristics of the institutions of the Union for the Mediterranean, indicating similarities and differences in the Euro-Mediterranean programs and the presentation of specific new initiatives. The author will also summarize the main possible positions in the ongoing debates about the need to reform the European Union addressed to the countries of North Africa and the Middle East.

scholarly journals POLITICAL AND SOCIAL VULNERABILITIES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE REFUGEE CRISIS 2011-2016: THE ARAB SPRING AND THE ROLE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Toader FLUTUR
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
Migration Route ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Active Involvement ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Right

The issue of uncontrolled migration has produced an institutional transformation of the European Union, dictated by the need to find solutions to new challenges. The reform of migration and asylum policy had to enter the European public agenda at an accelerated pace and political leaders had to find the common will to create the right legislative framework to respond to the migration crisis. The most important migration route preferred by refugees and economic migrants, is the Mediterranean Sea which in recent years has experienced the most intense human trafficking but also the most deaths in such a short time. As a result of the popular riots in North Africa and the Middle East in 2011, the deteriorating political and social situation in the countries of origin, more and more citizens have left their native places in the hope of ensuring a better life in the European Union. In order to support the structural reforms needed by the two areas and even physical reconstruction if we refer to the Syrian case, the European Union must show active involvement and a coherent plan to curb the fluid sources of migration. Supporting the reconstruction of foundations or strengthening institutions, investment in aid programs to stimulate economies and strong agreements with the governments of the states of the Middle East and North Africa are just some of the measures that the European Union should take swiftly.

scholarly journals HOLOTIPUS IN MARINE BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION

Holotipus ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Daniela Pessani
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Mediterranean Basin ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Marine Biodiversity ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Physical Chemical ◽  
Fragile Environment ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Mediterranean Basin

The oceans are a vast yet fragile environment, and one of the biggest issues scientists have to tackle today is the conservation of marine biodiversity. In 1975, to try to address the physical, chemical and biological alteration of these delicate ecosystems, 16 Mediterranean States together with the European Union, implemented the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP). The aim was to safeguard the marine environment and promote its development in the Mediterranean basin.

scholarly journals The migrant crisis in the Mediterranean: A multidimensional challenge for the European Union

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 617-629
Author(s):  
C Anguita Olmedo ◽  
P González Gómez del Miño
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Member States ◽  
Institutional Stability ◽  
Social Agenda ◽  
Illegal Migrants ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Eu

The European Union (EU) throughout its history has been the destination of diverse migratory flows. Therefore, migration has acquired special relevance by occupying a prominent position on the EU’s political, economic, cultural, and social agenda. The most recent migration crisis of 2015 represents a multidimensional challenge with severe consequences that affect, first, the institutional foundations of the EU (governance, security, solidarity of member states and institutional stability) and, second, the migratory policies of receiving states and the EU itself. This crisis is characterized, first, by the high number of illegal migrants that cross the Mediterranean, and, second, by the humanitarian tragedy and insecurity, which make the sea a grey area and an international reference in the migratory processes. The migration-security equation became a field of applied research and analysis, and at the same time a focus of political debate and public opinion. The article aims at analysing the crisis of 2015 and its consequences, which is done by means of the methodological approach based on the consequences that this phenomenon entails for the EU and for certain member states. The response of the EU is limited primarily to securitization by strengthening the external borders, turning towards internal security rather than respecting international and Community Treaties and promotion of their values, which contradicts the anticipated leadership of this global actor. The authors believe that it is necessary to implement new mechanisms in addition to ensuring greater effectiveness of the existing ones.

Security Breakdown and Regional Disintegration

2020 ◽  
pp. 131-152
Author(s):  
Luis Martinez
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Development ◽  
North Africa ◽  
The State ◽  
Security Policies ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Migration Flows ◽  
Stem Migration

Chapter Eight entitled “Security Breakdown and Regional Disintegration” analyses this security disaster and the region’s disintegration. The collapse of the state in Libya as well as the development of jihadi groups in North Africa and in the Sahel is eroding the state in North Africa. These countries are being pressured by the European Union to retake control of their borders and stem migration flows. Security policies are draining part of these states’ meagre resources to the detriment of economic and social development.

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