To the foundation of EMA
Opening Address by Prof. Dr. Udo Steinbach
Bridge or border? This is an old question on the place in history of the Mediterranean. The question is answered since the launching of the Barcelona Process in the mid-1990s: with a new meaning, the Mediterranean once again becomes the ‘mare nostrum’- our sea; waters that connect Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The project of the Mediterranean Union, agreed upon in July 2008, served to put this perspective into concrete terms.
After the end of the East-West division of the world, politicians and the public, also in Germany, paid more attention to the Mediterranean region. Soon a broad consensus rose that we should intensify our engagement within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean policy. Since then, all governments have been adamant that such a far-reaching project cannot be the exclusive concern of the countries bordering the Mediterranean, but should be a matter of concern for the entire EU. With this in mind, the Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to play a part in the preparation of the Mediterranean project. The Chancellor’s intervention showed the high importance that Germany imputes to its relations with her neighbours in the Mediterranean region and Middle East today.
Geography and history have closely linked us.However, vision and determination to breathe life into these politically, economically and culturally, were rarely encountered in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.
There are various reasons for this, but in the Middle East, it is noted with regret. To develop their relations to Europe many Arabs want a strong partner in Germany. Even if the countries in the Middle East position themselves in world-politics and world-economics on the strength of their resources, the EU remains the desired partner in their international system.
The development of the relations between Germany and the Mediterranean region adheres to something fortuitous, something quasi -‘hand to mouth.’ This applies to both politics and the economy; a strategic outlook is not noticeable. This is to be regretted against the background of dramatically grown economic opportunities created by the impact of increased earnings. It has to be ascertained that other European countries seek to increase a synthesis between politics, economy and culture in their relations to the Mediterranean and Middle East countries.
It is against this background, that the Euro-Mediterranean Association (EMA) wants to provide new impulses.
The EMA cannot and does not want to enter into competition with other institutions that endeavour to promote economic relations between Germany and the Middle East. Essentially, the association’s concern is to form relationships built upon increased and better understanding. To regard our partners in the Mediterranean and the Middle East solely as business partners means to underestimate them. With self-confidence, they want to be recognized for all dimensions of their personality, particularly those of cultural and religious interest.
The spectrum of the organization’s functions indicates the activities are targeted at the principal players of the relationships, in particular those in commerce, with the aim of better preparing them for understanding trade within a wider framework. Thus, a long and lasting contribution will be made towards that broadness and depth of Germany’s relations to the Mediterranean and Middle East region, which history and geography suggest.
Professor Dr. Udo Steinbach
