EURO-MEDITERRANEAN CONFERENCE

The role of cultural diversity on the threshold of the new millennium

Amman, 10-11 October 2000

MEETING CONCLUSIONS

1. OVERALL ASPECTS

At the end of the first quinquennium of our Partnership (1996-2000), we recognise that in partner Countries of the “Southern shore” reformations are unable to take off, it is probably due to global economy changes. This is the reason why we would offer a concrete contribution to the next Conference to be held in Marseilles in November. This event aims at defining again the main rules of the Partnership and at facilitating realisation procedures.

2. PARTNERSHIP MECHANISMS

Although we do appreciate EU action aiming at strengthening Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, we cannot hide difficulties faced on the way: the Union is carrying out several projects with slackness and consequent dispersion of resources. The Declaration of Barcelona of November 1995 was welcomed as an historical turning point of Euro-Mediterranean relations. Unfortunately bureaucracy, rules and procedures prevented the Partnership from making the best use of its high potentials.

3.THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY

The total involvement and participation of the most representative structures of civil Society is indispensable,

through structural supports and by differentiating rules and procedures in accordance to their legitimacy and representativity.

4. THE ROLE OF INTERCULTURAL DIALOGUE

The wellness of the hole region depends upon the capacity for each country to produce extra-richness. Economic development is an essential condition for social stability and security. Intercultural dialogue, mutual identification and a complete trust in dissimilar cultures are a crucial factor for political stability. There is no peace without security, there is no security without peace: culture has to enable us not to remain trapped in this vicious circle.

5. POLITICS AND CULTURE

Politics and culture must be the main “forces” to guarantee the ethical uprightness that economics seems to have lost, by obeying to “profit belief” only.

6. ACTIONS TO UNDERTAKE IN THE CONFERENCE OF MARSEILLES:

I. To reconsider MEDA programme procedures, reviewing the financial Regulation and rationally organising the activities: a strategy must be supported aiming at sustaining actions and organisations able to ensure continuity and success to planned projects.

II. To create conditions to let the MEDA programme promote the meeting of all the members for the realisation of the Partnership, each of them will give his contribution in relation with his own competencies. All the actions must be associated in a global vision, avoiding repetition of previous actions.

III. To establish by 2010– as indicated in the Conference of Barcelona in 1995- an Euro-Mediterranean area of free trade focusing on the great prospective that this challenge involves. But “Goods cannot move by themselves”, we must remind their importance as instruments of dialogue and cultural, knowledge and tradition exchange.

IV. To write “The Chart for Peace and Stability”, in order to exactly define the role of “Soft Security”: a kind of co-operation to manage conflicts risen in the Mediterranean area, not only through political and military instruments, but also using intercultural dialogue that may turn differences and cultural diversities into a precious resource.

V. To tackle in a programmatic way the problem of “Democracy and Human Rights” stressed during the Conference of Stugard in April 1999. It is necessary to claim human rights’ universality in order to promote a “policy of rights” that overcomes the “Nation-State” becoming “the main policy” of larger spaces without frontiers, without “owners”, without conflicts, in other words Euro-Mediterranean space.

VI. To strengthen the dialogue among people instilling a new balance that bases on politics feeding it and creating a new culture: a “Force” able to influence historical processes actually dominated only by economics and politics.

VII. To integrate intervention instruments of the Union, the Member States and financial Institution, with the attempt to empower the impact of reformations making Meda funds act as an incentive.

VIII. To evaluate the work developed by important organisations of Civil Society in order to originate programmatic synergies giving visibility to Euro-Mediterranean area.

IX. To come to a mutual agreement between politics and culture: we heard too many words not followed by the realisation of projects. There’s the need in the Mediterranean area of a singular capacity of action, able to work out projects and carry them out successfully and in the fixed terms.

X. To support Euro-Mediterranean organisations that has demonstrated to possess such a great operative ability to represent an example to be followed.