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The Mediterranean Union

from the April 29, 2008 eNews issue
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The European Union is continuing its expansion with plans to form a new entity called the Union for the Mediterranean. The Union for the Mediterranean is an international community made up of EU member states and countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The potential members include Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, the Palestinian Territories, and much of northern Africa. The new union will be established at a summit scheduled to take place in Paris this summer.

The Union for the Mediterranean was put forward by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is strongly opposed to Turkey's EU bid. The new union was first proposed as a means by which the EU could avoid granting Turkey full membership status in the European community. However Turkey has refused to participate unless it is given a guarantee that the Mediterranean Union would not be viewed as an alternative to EU membership. Despite the controversy surrounding Turkey, and some disagreement between France and Germany over membership, it would appear that plans for the Mediterranean Union are on track.

Europa Rising

The strategic geopolitical horizon of past half-century has been dominated by two superpowers: the United States and the USSR. But it is becoming clear that the two dominant powers of the next half-century apparently will be China in the east and the "new Europe" in the west. Over the last fifty years the European Union has emerged as a growing world power. The EU now encompasses more than 460 million people, stretching from the Arctic to the Mediterranean and east all the way to the Black Sea.

Europe's leaders are working hard to create a stronger, more-centralized Europe. In 2007, the European community welcomed two new member states: Romania and Bulgaria. It also expanded the border free zone and announced plans to merge its overseas embassies. In December, Europe's leaders signed the historic EU reform treaty, also called the Treaty of Lisbon. If all goes as planned the treaty will be ratified by member states next year and will enter into force on January 1, 2009. (The Treaty of Lisbon is essentially the same as the failed EU constitution, but this time around its fate will not rest in the hands of the people.)

Efforts to create a stronger Europe seem to be working. The EU has surpassed the United States to become the "world's biggest" economy. The combined gross domestic product of the 15 countries which use the euro overtook that of the United States in 2007. This is due in large part to the decline of the value of the US dollar. This past year Europe eclipsed the US in stock market value for the first time since the first World War, and economists say that the Euro could eventually take the place of the dollar as the world's primary reserve currency.

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